Escaping the Darkness
by scifigeekgirl
Summary: Sequel to Finding They Way.  Rose is back on the Tardis but things are still tense with the Doctor. They survived the Void but all is not as it should be.  A darkness has been unleashed and no one is safe.
1. Chapter 1

a/n: This will be a bit dark and angsty to begin with. Thanks for all the great response to Finding The Way. I hope you like the sequel! A big round of applause for **who_in_whoville** who is patient and listens to me ramble on about this plot as well as serves as beta extraordinaire. Oh, any errors are mine as I tinkered with it after she looked it over. Also, a big shout out to all my Dalekian Sisters who over the past six months have really helped me become a better writer. This fic would not exist without their support. Big squishy hugs to ya my Sistahs!

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who

Rose sat on the smooth, flat rock overlooking the large, dark lake. The twin moons of the alien sky reflected in the rippling water. She wrapped her arms around herself as she felt a chilly breeze. The sounds of the renaissance festival in the nearby town echoed about, the merry tune in stark contrast to the dark calm of this place. She gazed into the water as memories of another time she was trapped in a dark place washed over her. Fear nipped at the corners of her mind as she was almost overwhelmed by the memory of her imprisonment in the Void.

She tried to shake it off and remember everything was different now. She was back in the Tardis with the Doctor and her new friend Donna. She felt a presence behind her and smiled. "Hi, Jack," she said, without turning around.

Jack sat down next to her with two tankards of some alcoholic beverage in his hands. He handed one to her which she accepted, sniffing it to try and figure out what it was.

"Just wassail. Thought you could use it sitting out here all by yourself. Speaking of which, why are you out here? It's a great party. You should see Mickey and Martha. Those two sure do know how to party medieval style," Jack said, taking a sip of his wassail. Rose sat quietly looking at the tankard before finally taking a sip. After Rose failed to say anything, Jack decided it was time for someone to push her. "So, wanna tell me how you knew it was me before I sat down here?" he asked, looking at her pointedly.

She turned to him. "I can sort of feel you. It's like you're the pebble someone threw in the water and everything ripples around you. No one else feels that way."

"When I first found the Doctor again, he told me I felt wrong to him," he said and sipped some more wassail staring out at the moonlit water of the lake.

"You don't feel wrong to me, Jack. Just different. The Doctor's a bit different too you know. Time flows through humans in a linear straight line kind of way. Time Lords though, it flows into him and around him, sort of loops about, a bit more three dimensional and does his bidding. He could slow it if he wanted."

"You mean he could just will time to stop?" Jack asked, his curiosity piqued.

Rose smiled at him. "Hence the name Time Lord," she said cheekily.

"Can you?" Jack asked.

Rose shrugged. "Don't think so. The Doctor says I'm a bit telepathic, sensitive to time and I'll live longer than humans. I know I can see time lines. Been doin' that for a while now."

Jack picked up a small rock and threw it into the water. "How much longer than a human?" he asked.

Again, Rose shrugged. "Don't know. The Doctor has to run more tests."

"It's a lot to deal with, being immortal, especially if you don't have anyone to talk to," Jack said, still staring out across the lake. He turned to her. "If you ever need to talk, well, you know I'm here."

Rose looked over at him and smiled although it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Thanks, Jack but, I'm okay."

"Sorry Rose, but you don't look okay. I mean, you and the Doctor haven't spent very much time together since you got out of med bay. You sure everything's all right?"

Rose was silent and stared down at her tankard of wassail before answering. "I don't know. I…I just don't know. So much has happened." She looked up at Jack. "Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy to be back. The Doctor, sometimes he looks at me like he doesn't know me and I'm not sure I know myself anymore. I see things, hear things and know things that I don't think I should and it's a bit overwhelmin' sometimes. It scares me a bit."

Jack reached over and gripped her hand. "Yeah, I think I do," he said softly. A shadow passed in front of the twin moons and Rose jerked and stared up at them.

"Did you see that?" she asked.

"What?" Jack asked, tensing, looking around and ready for fight or flight.

Rose squinted up at the sky and shook her head. "Nothing I guess. Must have been my imagination."

Jack looked back at her. "Honey, I don't think we can ever just say it's our imagination any more. You and I have seen too much to just shrug something weird off. If you say you saw something, I believe you."

Rose looked over at him with tears in her eyes. "Thanks, Jack" she said, her voice cracking. He leaned over and hugged her.

While Rose and Jack sat by the lake, Donna was at the Renaissance festival enjoying a play featuring jesters and jugglers. She glanced off to the side and saw the Doctor moping in the shadows staring at a man giving some children a marionette show.

She walked over and tapped him on the shoulder. "Oi, should I be worried?"

The Doctor turned to her. "About what?" he asked, his voice devoid of its usual bubbling energy.

"The way you're starin' at that puppet. It some kind of alien puppet about to come to life and terrorize the festival or are you just bein' a misery."

"I am not being a misery," he declared, standing up straight. "And, since we're on the planet Tisik, chances are it is alien to you. Just looks like a simple primitive marionette to me. Well, I say that, but it could be a Trolox in disguise. They do like to mimic children's toys," he rambled and whipped out his sonic just to check. Donna rolled her eyes.

"Doctor," Donna said, chastising him.

He turned back to Donna. "I'm fine really."

"Yeah, well that sounds like Time Lord talk for not fine."

The Doctor sighed and shoved his hands in his coat pockets. "Donna, please don't."

"Right. Mickey and Martha are off havin' fun and you buggered off leaving Rose by herself so you could stand here and mope. The love of your life risks everything to get back to you and all you do is run away from her. Why can't you get your big old Time Lord brain wrapped around the fact that she loves you? She needs you, 'specially now."

"Rose is fine. We talked and she's fine. It's been years since we traveled and we've both changed. I'm giving her time to adjust."

"Right, you expect me to believe that?" Donna asked, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

The Doctor looked at her and shifted on his feet. "Well, yes."

"Pullease! I don't pretend to understand why she'd go through all this just to get back to a skinny strip of nothing like you. I mean from what I've seen, you don't even treat her right. Since she left the infirmary, all you do is try not to spend time with her. No wonder she wandered off by herself. It's not like you give a flip."

"What do you mean wandered off!" he demanded. "Where did she go?" he asked worried.

"So now you're worried. It's about time! Well, I'm not tellin' you anything else till you spill why you've been acted like such a git."

"But Donna, she could be in trouble."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry bout that, Jack went after her," Donna said with a slight smile, knowing how he would react.

"Jack?" he asked, agitated and pulling at his hair as he peered around the festival.

"Go on. I'm waitin'," Donna said and started tapping her foot.

"But, she's out there somewhere with Jack," he said, almost whinging.

She raised her eyebrows and continued staring at him.

He sighed. "Fine! It's just…Well, Rose has been through so much. She's confused and I don't want to push her into something."

"You are not tellin' me this is all Rose's fault. Come on Doctor. You can do better than that," Donna said, grabbing his hand and dragging him over to a bench near some performing acrobats.

The Doctor collapsed onto the bench and sighed staring out at the festival but seeing almost nothing. He turned and looked at Donna. "I'm scared. She's changed in so many ways. Maybe she's too good for me. She's still so young and I'm not. I'm old, tired and I've done things that… She shouldn't be around someone like me, someone whose life is tainted by darkness."

"Don't be daft. Age doesn't matter," Donna said and waved her hand in the air. "As for darkness, well we all have a bit of darkness in us don't we? And as for you," she said and poked him in the shoulder causing him to wince a bit, "I see just as much good as darkness in you. It's not like she doesn't know darkness. You saved her from the bloomin' Void. She loves you. Why, I don't know but she does. She needs you as much as you need her. So it's been a while, more reason to spend time with each other."

"Yes, but…"

"Stop it. Didn't you hear me? She needs you. She's scared too in case you missed it. I've seen her. Sometimes she just stares out into space looking so lost and frightened. She has nightmares too, not that she admits it. Sometimes I think she's as repressed as you."

The Doctor stood up and looked around the at the festival goers. He felt something cold pass by and shivered. He looked back at Donna. "I've got to find her."

"Well, it's about time," Donna said and stood up next to him. "Now go find her and make things right. If you don't someone else will."

The Doctor's eyes darkened. "Jack," he said, in a tight voice. "Donna, stay here. I'll be back… with Rose."

"Ahem," Donna said and held out her hand.

"What?" he asked, looking confused.

"While you're off making nice with Rose, I could be doin' some shoppin'."

The Doctor sighed, reached into his pocket and handed her a bag of coins before he stormed off reminding her to stay put. Donna smiled and shouted after him. "Oi! Don't think you can order me about now! I'm not gonna sit her like a lump on a log while you get your pants in a knot over the good lookin' Captain. This is my vacation too you know!" He looked back over his shoulder at her before dashing off.

Donna smiled and walked over to some of the vendors and looked at some jewelry. She pulled out the coins that the Doctor had given her and went shopping. After all, she earned it after setting a certain angsty Time Lord straight. As she was purchasing a bracelet, silence fell over the crowd and everyone started staring up at the sky. Donna dropped her purchase and watched as something streaked across the double moons and she felt something dark and frightening envelop the festival.

"Doctor," she whispered and began running after him.

After leaving Donna, the Doctor quickly made his way through the festive atmosphere of the Renaissance fair. He focused his mind on Rose and soon found she and Jack sitting on a rock near the lake embracing. A dark, possessive anger overwhelmed all reason and he stomped over to them.

Before he could say anything, Rose jerked away from Jack and turned to him. "Doctor, is everything okay?" she asked, worried at the emotions she felt rolling off of him. The Doctor glared at Jack.

"Of course. I thought we might walk around the fair together, just the two of us," he was sure to emphasize "two of us" while staring down Jack.

Jack looked up at him and smiled as he sipped his wassail and then turned to Rose. "Well sweetheart, looks like Dark and Stormy is here to sweep you away. Pity, just as things were getting interesting. He dumps you again, you know where to find me," Jack told her winking.

Before Rose could respond the Doctor spoke up. "That won't be necessary. I'm taking care of Rose."

Jack stood up and walked up to the Doctor. "Yeah, well maybe you should do a better job of it. Seems like a little while ago you were so caught up in a funk you didn't even care that she had disappeared," Jack said, goading him.

"I'm not going to repeat myself. I'm looking after Rose," the Doctor said, in full Oncoming Storm mode.

Finally, Rose had had enough. "Right, both of you see here. Been taking care of myself for a while now and I'm not helpless. Not that I don't appreciate you both gettin' all manly and protective. I mean, sometimes a girl likes that but…." Rose never finished. Her face turned pale and she began shivering. She turned and looked at the moons as some dark, amorphous tendril passed in front of them briefly dimming their light.

Donna ran up just as Rose backed up to the Doctor and Jack, stumbling a bit and letting out a shaky "no" before darkness claimed her.


	2. Chapter 2

a/n: I wrote this and rewrote this like three times so hoping I didn't butcher it too bad. Bows down before **who_in_whoville** who is patient and listens to me ramble on about this plot as well as serves as beta extraordinaire. Oh, any errors are mine as I tinkered with it after she looked it over. Also, a big shout out to all my Dalekian Sisters who have really helped me become a better writer. This fic would not exist without their support. Big squishy hugs to ya my Sistahs!

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any song mentioned in this story

Rose gasped awake and jerked up only to find herself alone laying on the smooth rock formation she and Jack had been sitting on overlooking the lake. "Doctor? Jack?" she called out, tentatively. She looked around to find herself completely alone. She couldn't even hear the music and noise of the Renaissance festival. Everything was still, dark and silent. There was no breeze and even the lake was mirror-like in its stillness. She looked up at the twin moons hanging like round, glowing globes in the sky, stood up and began looking for any sign of life, to try and determine what happened.

She zipped up her blue leather coat and rubbed her hands on her jeans to try and warm herself as a damp chill settled around her. After confirming she was indeed alone, she made her way closer to the settlement to see if she could find answers there. The eerie quiet and lack of movement or any life began to grate on her nerves, making her jumpy, as she made her way along the gravel path. Empty carts filled the streets and festive decorations hung silently from the quaint stone buildings. The only light was from the twin moons and a few sparse fires flickering in the town square. She called out, "Hello? Anybody about?" her voice echoing about the otherwise silent, vacant town.

As she stood in the square near an empty stage that had been erected for the festival, she caught a glimpse of something bright red flitting away behind some buildings. "Hello? Who's there? I won't hurt you. I just wanna talk," she called out. She made her way towards where she had seen the movement, but paused a few feet from the building wondering if she was losing her mind.

Then, she saw the red cloaked figure standing by a building a few hundred feet from her. It looked like a child, a girl perhaps. She wore black, shiny Mary Janes and her legs were pale and bare. Rose saw the barest hint of a red and black plaid skirt. Her face and the rest of her body were obscured by the scarlet cloak. The child stood in the distance as if she was watching Rose.

Rose took a step toward her and the child didn't move. A chilly breeze blew through the village gently rustling some of the decorations. The child tensed and sprinted away. Rose chased after her calling out for her to stop. The red hooded child dashed in and out of darkened alleys, leaping over any obstacle like a frightened gazelle. Rose ran faster and began closing in on her when suddenly the child stopped before a large paned glass window advertising Lupa's Trattoria.

"Please don't run away. I just wanna talk," Rose said, trying to show the child she was not a threat. The cloaked figure turned to her and the cloak shifted so that Rose could see that the child was a girl of eight or nine years of age with creamy colored skin, warm brown eyes and plaited brown hair. She raised her finger to her lips and said, "Shhhhh."

Rose stilled. A cold, horrible feeling wrapped itself around her until she felt like the world was shifting. She fell to her knees as her stomach flipped. The narrow street became a wind tunnel picking up the girl and tumbling her down the street like a rag doll. Rose fought against the hurricane like winds and made her way to the girl and grabbed the child's hand steadying her until the wind died down.

The girls delicate hand gripped Rose's hand with strength and determination. This child was a survivor of something terrible. Of this, Rose was positive. As she looked down at their joined hands, she noticed the girl was bleeding from several scrapes. The girl, although shaken, was not crying. She gazed at Rose's face as if she was waiting for something.

Rose knew that the girl was the key to finding out whatever was going on her and what happened to the Doctor and Jack. She smiled gently at her. "Hey now, it's gonna be all right. I'm not gonna hurt you. My name's…"

"Shhhh. It will hear you!" the child interrupted, in a loud whisper "You mustn't tell it who you are or it will find you for sure."

Rose tensed and scanned the area. "What will find me?"

"It's nearby. Can't you feel it?" the girl said, staring off into the distance of a darkened street.

"What can you feel? What is it? Does this have somethin' to do with why all the people are missin'? Something happened and I blacked out. When I woke up everyone was gone. Do you know what happened?"

The girl turned back to Rose. "It devours everything, especially people who..." The child turned abruptly, inhaling sharply. "It's coming! We have to go!" She tugged on Rose's arm and ran with Rose close by her side. They ran for what felt like miles, leaving the town behind until they were in a dark forest with towering pine trees all around them. Rose could hear a gurgling stream nearby. They ducked through and around the low growing foliage, crunching through the pine straw until they found, a narrow, shallow meandering stream. The moonlight filtered through the tall trees dancing across the moving water. Rose didn't see or hear anything around and pulled the girl toward the stream bank and sat on a fallen log.

She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and dampened it in the stream and began cleaning the girl's cuts. "Now then, what was it we just ran from?" She asked.

The girl sat huddled beside her hunched over a bit staring at the ground. "The monster," she said softly. "It devours everything in it's path until there is only nothingness."

Rose paused and looked over at her. "Wadda you mean it devours everything till there's nothingness?"

The girl, her face partly obscured by the red cloak, looked up at Rose, pulling her hand from Rose's grasp. "It wants to possess you because you are everything it is not. It devours everything, even time itself."

"Nothin' can destroy time," Rose said, although she wasn't confident that was true. She really wished the Doctor was here as she was sure he would understand whatever this thing was. "So why's it chasing you?"

"I know that it exists. It's cunning, keeps to the shadows and strikes without warning. It wants the multiverse and everything in it, everything that was, is or ever could be. It's the harbinger of the darkness to come."

Rose shivered at her words, some of which were familiar to her. "You said it wants everything, you mean to control everything and everyone, yeah?"

"It eats everything, every moment until there is nothingness," she said solemnly. "But, it doesn't have to. It can be stopped. When the wolf howls, it hesitates. It knows a storm is coming."

Rose stared at her unable to speak after hearing the words that had once heralded the destruction of the life she knew and loved. She turned and stared into the stream watching as the water rushed over rocks and pebbles. When she turned back, the girl was gone. She stood up and looked around calling out for her. She heard a whisper in the forest singing _"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf?"_

As the singing began to fade, Rose spoke up. "Wait! Don't go! I can help you! We have to figure this thing out!"

"I know who's afraid of the wolf and it's coming up behhhiiinnd you!" the voice sing-songed. Rose turned around to find a massive black amoeba-like creature with tendrils reaching outward, absorbing the forest and anything it touched. She was filled with such fear, dread and horror. Just as one of its gelatinous, pitch black tendrils came close to her face, she screamed from the very core of her being. The creature seemed to hesitate and then backed away.

She stepped backwards and stumbled to the ground. The next thing she saw was Martha's worried face hovering over her. "Martha! Run, we have to run! It's coming!" she shouted, grabbing Martha about the shoulders and looking around wildly.

"Easy Rose, calm down. You're on the Tardis and safe," Martha told her, in a calming voice as she tried to extract herself from Rose's strong grip.

Rose was breathing hard as she laid back, her eyes still darting around the infirmary. After she calmed, she looked back at Martha's concerned face.

"All right now?" Martha asked, waving a piece of equipment over Rose.

"Confused. We in the medical bay?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, you fainted. You seem to be all right though. The Doctor thinks something just overwhelmed your senses. Says that one of the changes in you is that you're sensitive to telepathic beings and time disruptions. Something weird happened on the planet about the time you lost consciousness and he thinks there's a connection."

Mickey ran into the room. "Everything all right? Thought I heard screamin'. Rose, you're awake! How you feelin'? You gave us a scare."

"Sorry 'bout the screamin'. Is everyone else okay?" Rose asked, sitting up.

"Yeah, everyone's fine. You sure you're okay?" Mickey asked, looking at her concerned.

"Promise Mickey. So do you know what happened?"

"Martha and me were in the village havin' a bite to eat when all of a sudden everyone stopped and looked up. I can't really explain it, but it was like this feelin' of dread and fear overcame everyone and somethin' was movin' in the sky. Then it just stopped and everyone went back to normal. Donna ran up, said somethin' had happened to you and the Doctor and Jack were takin' you back to the Tardis."

Rose nodded. "Yeah, I remember feelin' somethin' odd, then I woke up and everyone was gone except for this little girl and this _thing_. I tripped and then I woke up here," she said, staring blankly. Then she turned back to them. "Where's the Doctor?"

"He and Jack are out lookin' around tryin' to find out what happened," Mickey explained.

Rose nodded. "Right, so what are we doin' here?"

"The Doctor wants you to stay here and rest," Martha told her.

"Oh, of course he does," Rose said sarcastically. "He's been makin' it real clear he doesn't want me around. I get it. Doesn't mean he gets to control me though," Rose said stubbornly, crossing her arms.

Mickey smiled. "That's the Rose Tyler I know!"

Martha sighed. "He loves you Rose. Even when he's being an arse. He's just rubbish at being honest about his feelin's."

"Yeah," Rose said softly.

"Point is, he worries about you. It's not always about him runnin' from how he feels, although runnin' away from people who love him is what he does best," Martha said, shaking her head. She turned back to Rose. "You sure you're up to this?"

"Martha, I'm okay really. I've spent enough time in this bloomin' med bay. Somethin' weird happened to me out there. I just want to know what's goin' on." Rose said, as she hopped off the examining table.

"Well, I can't find anything wrong with you and if you're feelin' better, I s'pose, we might as well go find Donna and see what they've found out." The three of them left the med bay and made their way to the console room where they found Donna sitting on the pilot seat reading a magazine. She looked up and smiled at Rose.

"Feelin' better?"

"Yep, right as rain. So, any word from Jack and the Doctor?"

"No, they're still out investigatin'. We're s'pose to and I quote 'Stay in the Tardis and I mean it,'" Donna repeated, mimicking the Doctor and rolling her eyes.

"Right, and who here wants to do that?" Rose asked, looking around at them.

Donna tossed her magazine aside and hopped up. "I'm in. Let's go," she said and reached for her coat.

"Wait a minute. If the Doctor said stay here, there might be a reason," Mickey said.

Donna looked at Rose and Martha, neither of whom seemed keen on staying. "Maybe you haven't noticed Mickey, but the Doctor's just rubbish on his own and as for Captain Jack, he tends to get distracted, usually by the Doctor's arse," Donna explained.

Martha and Rose both giggled and the group walked toward the door with Mickey scowling and muttering, "I really didn't need to hear that."

Before they could open it, the Doctor stepped in and immediately went to Rose.

"Rose, what are you doing out of the infirmary? You should be resting," he said softly.

"I feel fine, Doctor. Somethin' weird happened to me and I want to know what's goin' on out there."

"Weird? What do you mean weird?" he asked as he whipped out his sonic and started scanning her.

"Doctor, I'm fine really. Did you and Jack find out anything?"

He pocketed his sonic and looked intently at her before answering. "No. I can't find any trace of any temporal anomalies, rifts or anything out of the ordinary. I'm going to have the Tardis run a few more scans," he explained and walked over to the console. "I really wish you'd go lie down while I work on this," he said, as he worked.

Something inside of Rose snapped. "If you don't want me here, then take me back to Earth."

Donna smiled and whispered. "You tell 'im."

Mickey smirked and turned to Martha. "I could use some tea. How 'bout you, Martha?" Martha followed him out hesitantly. The Doctor turned and stared at Donna.

"What? Oh all right! I'll go have some tea too. Rose, if you need anything just call. Don't let Spaceman be all arrogant Time Lordy with you." Donna said as she walked out of the room.

After they left, the Doctor turned to Rose and leaned against the console. "Where's this coming from? I thought you wanted to be here."

"It's not 'bout what I want. It's about you not wantin' me here. I can't be here if you're just pretendin' 'cos you feel sorry for me."

He tensed and began pacing with his hands in his pockets. He stopped in front of her. "I do want you here. I told you how I felt after I pulled you from the Void. I want you here more than anything."

"Yeah, then why do you keep trying to push me away like you can't even stand to be in the same room with me?" Rose answered, her voice shaking with emotion.

If there was one thing the Doctor could not stand, it was to see Rose this upset. He walked over and grasped her hand, gently tugging her toward the pilot seat. "Rose, I…" Before he could finish, Jack burst into the Tardis.

"Rose! Hey you feeling better? We were worried about you," Jack said, his face alight with a charming smile. Rose looked up at him and smiled brightly thinking at least Jack was happy to see her.

Although he would not admit it, there was a tiny part inside of the Doctor that was envious of the easy going friendship Rose and Jack shared. After watching Jack direct his charming smile at Rose, the Doctor put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to his side. "Rose is fine. Find out anything?" Rose looked up at him a bit startled at his possessive gesture.

Jack chuckled internally at the Doctor's reaction. At least he was showing an interest in Rose. "No one seems to remember exactly what happened other than something bad passed by. Nothing specific, just your typical bad feelings, like someone crossing your grave."

"No, it was more than that," Rose said.

The Doctor turned to her. "What do you mean?" he asked her, still holding her hand.

"Well, I thought I saw something in front of one of the moons and felt something, like a chill that passed through me. It was like I was disoriented and afraid. Something just felt wrong, almost like a nightmare. Then, there was the scared little girl and the darkness," Rose said and shivered.

"What little girl? What do mean by darkness?" The Doctor asked, now even more concerned.

"Yeah, I met this mysterious little girl runnin' from this dark monster thing," she said cuddling closer to the Doctor's side.

"Rose, we didn't see any little girl around when you fainted," Jack said.

"Oh, that happened after I fainted, before I woke up here," she said almost causally.

Jack and the Doctor exchanged a significant look.

"Well, it could have been a telepathic attack. It might account for why Rose reacted so strongly and the rest of the population wasn't as effected. The majority of the people here aren't empaths, telepaths or time sensitive." Jack said, leaning against a support strut looking at Rose contemplatively.

"No, if it was a telepath, I would have felt it," the Doctor said, still staring at Rose.

Rose looked up at him. "Maybe it didn't use telepathy or maybe whatever this thing is was strong enough to broadcast emotions or maybe it has some way to affect the amygdala."

The Doctor grinned widely at her. "Rose Tyler, look at you in investigator mode and being all sciencey!"

Rose smiled shyly at him. Jack perked up. "So the amygdala is the part of the brain that controls fear, right?"

The Doctor put on his brainy specs and responded. "In humans it is. Every species is different but Rose could be on the right track. The question is, how would this creature or whatever it is affect an entire population? I found no traces of any substance that could cause such a reaction."

"What about a pathogen, a pharmaceutical or some type of electromagnetic pulse?" Jack asked.

"Nope, no sign of any of that. If there was any type of foreign substance, I would know," the Doctor said.

"Yeah, but Rose sensed something," Jack reminded him.

The Doctor looked at Rose, leaned over and licked her cheek.

"Oi, what was that for?" Rose said wiping off her cheek.

He grinned at her. "Just checking something," he said and squeezed her hand.

"Like what?" Rose asked.

"Oh, you know, just seein' if there's anything off with your body chemistry."

Jack smirked. "Is that what Time Lords call it? Now where I'm from, we…."

"Jack!" the Doctor said, interrupting him.

Rose looked down at their joined hands. "You told Martha that my senses were enhanced and I might've had a bit of an overload which is why I passed out. So, maybe somethin' about me is different enough that I can tell something you can't."

"Rose, any changes in you are based on what Time Lords wrote into your DNA. My people would not set out to create a species more advanced than ourselves."

"No, but you said the Tardis is the one that activated the recessive gene and that she controlled the changes in Rose. Maybe when she did that, she changed the programming a bit," Jack said.

The Doctor looked from Jack to Rose.

"Stop it!" Rose exclaimed. "I'm not some experiment! I'm a person and I'm right here," she said emotionally.

"Of course you are," the Doctor said softly and pulled her into his arms for a hug. He glared at Jack over her shoulder. He pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "You're Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth, my…my partner and well the person who made me better."

Rose smiled gently at him thinking that was probably the best declaration he was capable of at the moment. She reached up and caressed his face and he rubbed his check against her hand. "So, maybe we should go out investigatin' together. I might be able to pick something up and you can check it out or figure out what that vision I had meant."

He stiffened. "No, you need to stay in the Tardis. You lost consciousness and something tried to manipulate your mind. We don't know what it would do to you if whatever this is decided to focus on you. I'm not sure I'm convinced you're as well as you think you are."

"I feel fine and I want to help. You can't just hide me away in the Tardis forever."

He stared at her and may have muttered something like, "Watch me."

Before Rose could confront the Doctor about his remark, Jack stepped in. "Okay Doctor, you go investigating and I'll keep Rose company in the Tardis." He winked at Rose.

"No," the Doctor said coldly, staring at Jack. Rose just looked at him, gaping a bit. She hadn't seen him react like this since he was her leather wearing Doctor.

"Well then, Rose should come with us. We might figure this out faster if we take her with us."

"Us?" the Doctor said, almost indignantly.

"Doctor, Jack's right. The more people we have investigatin' the more likely we'll find something. 'Sides, if you're worried about me, it's better to have Jack there to help."

The Doctor grudgingly agreed but still glared at Jack. Rose looked at him perplexed. She couldn't figure out where this jealousy was coming from all of a sudden. Not that a small part of her wasn't pleased.

"What's wrong Doctor, don't like the competition?" Jack goaded, enjoying himself.

The Doctor stood up between Jack and Rose. "What competition? Time Lord," he said with arrogance.

Now Jack was grinning. "Really, well Time Lord, maybe Rose would rather be investigating with a charming former Time Agent instead of a moldy, repressed Time Lord,"

"Oh my Gawd! Would you both stop it or I'm lockin' you both in the Tardis and I'll go investigatin' with Donna. At least she's got her head on straight," Rose said, standing up. A chuckle and some whispering drifted in from the corridor. "You lot can come out now. The boys here are done comparing their bits," Rose called out.

Donna walked in, a smug look on her face, followed by Mickey and Martha, who were trying to muffle laughter. The Doctor had a dark expression on his face. Rose walked up to him. "Doctor…."

"I won't let Captain Flirt over there put you in danger and I'm not gonna lose you again," he said passionately.

Rose stared into his dark and stormy eyes. "You're not gonna lose me. I promised you forever."

He raised her hand in a courtly gesture and kissed her knuckles, nibbling a bit as he did so. He lowered her hand but didn't let it go and had sexy smirk on his face as he looked into her eyes. Rose blushed a bit and wondered how many times he would ping pong back and forth between pushing her away and being possessive.

He turned away and looked over at Donna, a huge grin on his face. "Right, let's see if we can find this mysterious, rude visitor who has a habit of scaring the population not to mention giving Rose visions of scared little girls and evil monsters. Donna and Jack you're with Rose and I and Mickey and Martha can stay here and monitor readings to let us know if anything sets off the Tardis' sensors. Neither Mickey nor Martha looked too perturbed at being left behind together. Mickey was definitely looking at Martha with something more than friendship in his eyes.

Just as Jack reached for the door, the Tardis shook tossing everyone down to the grating and made a horrible screeching noise. The console exploded and the time rotor seemed to activate as everyone struggled to get up.

"Doctor!" Rose called out, as she held onto a support strut. The Doctor tumbled over to her. He held onto her and looked into her eyes. "Something's coming" they said in unison, as the Tardis groaned to a stop.


	3. Chapter 3

a/n: Bows down before who_in_whoville who is a patient and listens to me ramble on about this plot as well as serves as beta extraordinaire. Oh, any errors are mine as I tinkered with it after she looked it over. Also, a big shout out to all my Dalekian Sisters who have really helped me become a better writer. This fic would not exist without their support. Big squishy hugs to ya my Sistahs!

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or Little Bunny Foo Foo

The Tardis was still. Lights flickered and sparks periodically shot from the console. The Doctor slowly pulled himself up and reached down for Rose tugging her up along with him. He looked around spotting Mickey and Martha in a tangle of limbs and loose wiring on the opposite side of the console room. He called out for Donna and heard her cursing softly. She crawled out from under some loose grating and over to Jack who easily lifted her up. He and Rose made their way over to the smoking console.

He touched a control and jerked his hand away sucking on his burnt finger. He saw the monitor, put on his glasses and started thumping it. "No, no, no! That's impossible!" he shouted.

Groaning, Mickey and Martha walked over and stared at the monitor and the Gallifreyan symbols cycling across it. "What happened?" Martha asked.

The Doctor didn't respond and began flipping switches and turning dials.

"Doctor, What is it? What's goin' on?" Donna demanded, hovering behind him, watching him tug at his hair in obvious frustration.

While the Doctor fretted over sensor readings, Rose stared at the door and slowly backed up closer to him. Jack watched Rose nervously move away from the door, her eyes never leaving it.

"Rose, you okay over there?" he asked and walked up putting his hand on her arm.

Rose seemed to shake off whatever was happening to her turned to Jack with a slight smile. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said softly, but her eyes kept darting back to the door.

The Doctor didn't miss Jack comforting Rose. He tensed up, pulled out the mallet and hit a control he didn't need to, causing an alarm to sound.

"Doctor?" Rose asked, her voice questioning.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "For exactly 2.4793 milliseconds we were nowhere and that is well, impossible. Of course, where we've landed isn't exactly possible either. This planet shouldn't even exist."

"What do you mean nowhere and now we're somewhere that shouldn't exist?" Donna asked, sounding perturbed at his confusing rambling.

The Doctor began pacing. He stopped and stared at the door. "According to the Tardis we moved from the planet Eleas through nothingness to a planet that was destroyed in the Time War. It can't exist," he explained, staring at the door as if it led to every horror he had ever seen.

Martha stepped forward. "Doctor, what's out there?"

He shook his head. "It can't be. We lost Quetaloria along with hundreds of other worlds just before the last stand at Gallifrey."

"I don't understand," Donna said, walking up to stand in front of him. "What do you mean lost it? Obviously it's still here."

"No, Donna. You don't understand," he said, his voice broken as he remembered the horrors of the war and his part in it.

Rose stepped closer to him, placing a hand on his arm to comfort him. He looked down at her hand and then into her eyes. His eyes were black and filled with sorrow. Rose shook her head and whispered, "You don't have to do this."

He leaned over and pressed his forehead to hers. He took a deep breath and turned back to Donna, Mickey, Martha and Jack. "When you think of war, what do you think about? Guns, bombs, fire? Time Lord weaponry is far more advanced. We practically invented what you lot call black holes or quantum singularities. At the height of the war, we wielded the power of the Time Vortex, unmaking entire civilizations and planets or worse. It was a simple thing for us to manipulate a star turning it into a super nova, white dwarf or even a black hole."

"You mean you'd go into some solar system where people lived and just destroy their sun?" Donna said in outrage. "But what about the people livin' there?" she almost shouted.

"It was war. As you humans like to say, sacrifices were made. Triage if you will. Cauterize the infected area to save the body. Quetaloria was one of the lucky ones. They never even knew what happened. It was quick in relative terms. All those people and everything they were, their whole planet just gone as if they never existed," he said softly, a haunted look in his eyes.

The Tardis was silent. Jack finally spoke up. "So the Daleks were occupying this world and Time Lords unmade it. Must have worked 'cos I've never even heard of this planet or that type of weapon."

"Yeah," the Doctor `said softly.

"So what do you mean by nothingness? You said we were in the nothingness. That another word for the Void? I mean are we in a parallel universe?" Mickey asked.

The Doctor looked over at him. "Nothingness is not the Void. It's exactly like it sounds, Mickey. We were nowhere and that is very, very bad. I s'pose the good news is we are still in our own universe."

Rose had been listening intently to the Doctor and his explanation was disturbing her. "Doctor, you said the nothingness." He nodded his head. "But, that's what the little girl said was happenin'."

"What do you mean little girl? What little girl?" Donna asked.

"In my dream or vision or whatever it was. There was a little girl runnin' from a monster. She called it the Darkness, said it was devourin' everything even time. Is that even possible, Doctor?"

He looked at her with a worried expression. "It shouldn't be," he said, rubbing his face.

"Typical, just goes from bad to worse," Mickey mused. "So Rose has a vision of a kid who warns her about somethin' bad eatin' up the universe and bam! The Tardis suddenly takes off and lands somewhere that shouldn't exist? I dunno Boss, sounds like someone else is pullin' the strings here. I mean, who or what could hijack the Tardis like that?"

"Mickey's right. What could force the Tardis to take off like that?" Jack asked.

A light suddenly lit the Doctor's eyes and he slammed his palm against his forehead. "Of course! Oh I am so thick!" He ran to the console, activating systems and sensors. Finally, he stopped and grinned at everyone. "Universal hiccup!" he finally announced.

"Universal hiccup?" Jack asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, what's that?" Rose asked.

"Simple! Wellll, maybe not quite so simple. Something caused the universe to well expand, contract and shift. Bounced us around a bit and caused a spatial temporal tsunami. It's stabilized now."

"So it what, shifted the Tardis? That's not something normal is it, Doctor?" Martha asked, looking worried.

"Oh no! Definitely not. Gave the Tardis a bit of a fright really," he explained, patting the console.

"I still say it's no accident. We gotta be here for a reason," Mickey said.

The Doctor looked at him. "Could be or could be completely random. I rather like random you know," he said, starting to grin as the angst of the Time War disappeared into the recesses of his memories.

Donna walked up. "So what, we gonna look and see what's out there or sit around in here worryin' about what could be?"

Rose paled a bit. "Sorry, did you say 'what could be'?'" she asked, a concerned at hearing that phrase again.

"Oh, don't you start getting all spooked now. Scary little girls, falling into nothingness. It's like we're caught in bloomin' Alice in Wonderland!" Donna complained. "Just open the door and take a peek."

The Doctor walked toward the door and paused. Rose walked up to his side looking troubled. "Doctor, I've got a bad feelin' about this. Mickey's right. Us landin' here wasn't an accident." The Doctor grasped her hand to comfort her.

"You know when we crashed, you two said 'somethins' comin'. What was that all about?" Mickey asked.

"Did we?" the Doctor said, innocently obviously not wanting to discuss it and simultaneously shifting into adventure mode. "So! Who's up for a jaunt on the planet that shouldn't exist?" he asked, as he opened the door and stepped out with Rose.

Martha put on her coat while Mickey sighed and shook his head.

Donna looked over at Mickey. "Oh come on! You know you want to find out why we're here. Besides, the Doctor needs us. This can't be easy for him," Donna said as she made her way outside. Jack grinned, slapped Mickey on the back and followed Donna.

The group found themselves in a hot, damp and muggy swamp. The ground was saturated with water and squished when they walked. Around them were tall grassy areas growing in the muck. Dense foliage was interspersed among tall mangrove-like trees, all in various shades of lavender, purple, violet and silver gray. The ground was a cushion of decaying vegetation mixed with mud and water, and the sky was a glowing pink color with a white sun not quite overhead. A slight breeze blew through the tall trees that were bejeweled with delicate tangles of pastel pink moss draping from the branches like a mass of silk scarves.

The swamp was teeming with life and they could hear a cacophony of chirping insects, bird song, croaking frogs along with the rustle of animals moving around in the greenery. The air was permeated with the scent of decay mixed with a heady floral aroma emitted by some exotic orchid-like flowers nestled in the branches of the trees.

A three inch long red grasshopper jumped out at Donna who yelped and shifted out of its way. Her foot sank into the muck and mud gurgled up around her trainer clad foot. She glared at the Doctor. "You owe me a pair of new trainers after this, not to mention you're takin' Rose and me shoppin'," she announced, grimacing at her ruined trainers. She sniffed. "And what's that stench?" she asked, waving her hand in front of her face.

"Oh come now, Donna! We've been in swamps before. Remember Arthou?" the Doctor said as he walked over to a fuchsia colored bush and pulled out his sonic to examine it.

She looked up at him, a sarcastic look on her face. "How could I forget. We got stuck in quicksand and ended up leaving half our clothes behind and had to tromp back to the Tardis in our knickers." Everyone turned to look at them. Donna crossed her arms defensively. "And no, we're not doin' that again even if it means savin' some snails from extinction."

"Savin' the snails?" Martha asked before bursting out into laughter, soon followed by Rose. Mickey just shook his head grinning.

"They were very important snails," the Doctor responded, sniffing.

"Um, snails aside, maybe we should find out why we're here?" Jack said, trying not to laugh.

"Exactly," the Doctor, agreed glaring a bit at Donna. "The major settlements on Quetaloria were in the woodlands just north of here. Shouldn't be too far on foot. The Quetalorians were known for their cities which were made from a rather unique fungus."

Everyone stopped and stared at him. "What?" he asked looking at their faces which ranged from disbelief to disgust. "Oh come on! You lot read fairy stories as children of little creatures living in mushrooms. Just think of it as a large posh mushroom city. Quite fanciful and practical. The Quetalorians were quite brilliant chemists. They were surrounded with natural resources which they manufactured into everything from medicines and cosmetics to fabric, fuel and food sources. There was a fabulous café that served a gourmet fungi fritter that was in demand everywhere," he said reminiscing and then his face fell. "That is, until the Daleks came. Despite their advancements, the Quetalorians were a simple, peaceful people who shunned technology from other worlds. They were open to trade, but wanted to preserve their heritage. They were easy victims for the Daleks," he said, staring off into the distance, once again falling into dark memories.

Rose squeezed his hand and looked up at him worried. "Doctor, we don't have to go any further."

He smiled down at her. "You know we do. Mickey and Jack are right. We're here for a reason," he said softly. He looked up, all previous melancholy gone. "Right! Not gonna solve the mystery of the planet that shouldn't be by standin' around here! Allons-y!" he exclaimed and made his way forward through the thick marsh grass, pushing his way through bushes, the wet ground sucking at his trainers. As they trudged their way forward, Rose kept peering out into the swampy woods and looking down at the dark pools of water they passed. Every shadow made her jump and the Doctor kept shooting her worried looks.

Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. Everyone stopped.

"What the 'ell was that!" Mickey almost shouted, grabbing a hold of Martha standing next to him. A few dark clouds passed over the sun darkening the swamp with ominous shadows.

"Oh, sounded like a Womack," the Doctor responded.

"Oh, I've heard of those," Jack said, looking up into the trees. "They're kind of like sloth aren't they?"

"Yep, perfectly harmless, unless it's mating season," the Doctor explained. He bent close to Rose and whispered into her ear, "Best keep close to me. Last thing we need is a love sick Womack jumping on you 'cos it likes that perfume you're wearing."

"Doctor, you gave me this perfume. You sayin' you gave me some cologne that's the mating scent of a sloth?" Rose asked, a bit perturbed.

"No! Course I didn't," he said tugging at his ear. The swamp became suddenly silent except for the wind gently jostling the trees. An eerie mist appeared quickly blanketing the ground.

"Doctor?" Rose asked nervously.

"That's a bit odd," the Doctor commented, kneeling down as the thick mist surrounded them. Donna walked up to stand next to Rose watching the doctor sniff the mist and stick his tongue out to taste it smacking it noisily in his mouth.

Donna turned to Rose. "And you kiss that mouth?" Rose smiled a bit and shrugged, but was obviously not really paying attention. She was too focused on what was happening around them. The sun was now completely obscured by the clouds and the swamp was enshrouded in shadows and mist. She shivered as the damp, cool mist swirled about her legs almost like it was trying to crawl its way up and envelop her in its damp embrace.

Jack stood behind Donna and Rose and was focused on scanning the area around them. "Uh guys, this mist is getting thicker and starting to rise. I'm thinkin' we should get out of here. I don't like it."

Martha gripped Mickey's hand and turned to him. "Think we should stick close together 'fore we get separated or lost?" she asked Mickey who nodded in response.

Mickey squeezed her hand in reassurance. Part of him felt a twinge of something special for Martha and was pleased to have this tangible physical connection to her. Another part of him was worried and on alert at the swift change in the swamp. He'd seen too many odd things working for Torchwood to think this was just a simple natural phenomena.

The Doctor stood up looking perplexed. "He pulled out his sonic and started, backing up to everyone. "I think that we should all stick close together" he said, just as the mist quickly rose up and completely enveloped everyone. The Doctor turned to where he had last seen everyone. "Rose! Donna!" he shouted, but his shouts were met with a deafening silence except for the wind blowing through the trees and the haunting sound of a little girl signing:

"_Little Time Lord foo-foo_

_walkin' through the swamp now _

_sonicing all the way tryin to solve it all _

_and missing every little clue._

_Then down came the Good Fairy _

_and she said: Little Time Lord foo foo_

_You better be payin' attention_

_I've taken away all your friends_

_So now you're on your own _

_I'll give you two chances,_

_and if you don't find the answer…"_

Her voice changed from a happy little girl to what could only be described as a scary, solemn, eerie voice:

"_The Darkness will come and devour everything."_

He heard Rose scream "Doctor!" and her voice faded away until there was nothing but silence leaving him alone in a white swirling world.


	4. Chapter 4

a/n: Bows down before **who_in_whoville** who is a patient and listens to me ramble on about this plot as well as serves as beta extraordinaire. Oh, any errors are mine as I tinkered with it after she looked it over. Also, a big shout out to all my Dalekian Sisters who have really helped me become a better writer. This fic would not exist without their support. Big squishy hugs to ya my Sistahs!

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the nursery rhymes which I made all dark and sinistery in this fic.

Rose was still gripping Donna's hand when the thick mist blanketed them in an almost mystical white world. "Doctor!" Rose called out.

"What is this stuff?" Donna demanded, trying to see through it.

Rose called out again but heard nothing in response. She looked down toward the ground and could still feel that they were standing in the wet muck of the swamp. "I don't know Donna, but this isn't natural. It came up too quick. You hear anything?" Rose asked.

"No, nothin'. It's weird. We're in a bloomin' swamp. We should hear somethin'. This stuff is thicker than my Aunt Edna's porridge

"We can't just stand here. We've got to do something," Rose said, poking the toe of her trainer beyond what she could see of the layer of thick fog surrounding them.

"What, you want to just pick a direction and hope we don't fall in a pool of quicksand or worse?" Donna asked, not happy with that plan.

"You got a better plan?" Rose asked her, still gripping her hand.

"Oh all right. Look, the Doctor was in front of us and everyone else was behind us. We should head back toward everyone and the Tardis. That's where the Doctor will go."

Rose nodded, but was concerned about walking away from the Doctor. She and Donna slowly made their way blindly back through the fog in the direction they thought they the Tardis was located. Suddenly, Donna swore and lifted up her shoe.

"What?" Rose asked.

"It's a bloody pond," she said, still holding up her now dripping trainer.

"But, that wasn't there before," Rose said. "Somethin's changing' things around." The fog began to thin and clear in front of them, they could see the pond they were about to walk through and they started to hear frogs croak and insects buzzing about them.

"So much for findin' the Tardis. We could walk around in circles in this place for days and never find anyone," Donna said, looking around at the mangrove-like trees sitting around the edges of the pond and the large purple lily pads floating peacefully in the dark murky water. The sun still had not come out and the dark shadows amongst the trees mixed with the veil of thick mist cast this place into some kind of twisted fairy tale world.

"You were talkin' about Alice in Wonderland on the Tardis. Guess someone with a twisted sense of humor heard you," Rose said and found an old fallen tree to sit on while they tried to formulate a new plan. Donna collapsed next to her sighing. She looked over at Rose staring across the pond.

"So, we just gonna wait for the fog to lift or what?"

Rose shrugged. "Well, like you said, it's better than fallin' into quicksand or endin' up lost in the swamp. Donna nodded and sighed just as a large purple and blue frog the size of a grapefruit jumped out of the water and plopped down in front of them.

Donna and Rose sat up and stared at the frog. "What are you lookin' at?" Donna snarked at the frog, who sat there staring at them with its little beady black eyes, its slick mottled skin beaded with water.

"Stuff it ginger creature!" the frog said.

Donna's jaw dropped. Rose started to smile and asked, "Sorry, but uh Mr. Frog, did you say somethin?"

"Oi, pink and yellow humanoid, watch it. I'm no pedestrian Earth amphibian. I am Philias, the last of my noble family and this is my realm that you have invaded."

"Rose, do you hear a talkin' frog?" Donna asked, still staring at the frog.

"Yeah," Rose acknowledged.

"Good, 'cos I thought I was losin' it. Don't know why. Travelin' with the Doctor and all. It's not like I haven't seen weirder stuff."

"Scuse me, Philias is it? Um, we were with some friends when this weird fog rolled in. Don't s'pose you've seen any other people like us about?" Rose asked. Donna just stared at her as if she was a nutter.

"You're talkin' to a frog," she said.

"Maybe, he can help us," Rose replied and turned back to the frog.

"Do I look like I spend my time engaging conversation with rude humanoids who stomp their vile warm blooded feet through my realm," he practically croaked and then shot his tongue out to grasp a flying insect which he quickly gobbled up.

"Oh bloody hell, we had to get the cheeky frog," Donna complained. "Look here Philias Froggy, we're lost and we need to get back to our friends. Surely, you saw somethin' while you was swimmin' around this pond doing your froggy thing?" Donna asked with attitude.

"Rude ginger creature! Maybe the Pink and yellow one can teach you some manners," he said and hopped off.

"Did you hear that!" Donna said outraged. "I've been insulted by a frog! A frog!" Rose stared at her for a few minutes and burst out laughing. Donna soon followed.

Rose stopped laughing abruptly when something dark moved through the swirling mist on the other side of the pond. She grabbed Donna's hand again. Donna stared where Rose had been looking.

"Did you see that?" Rose said and continued staring across the pond.

Suddenly Donna gasped. "I don't believe it," she whispered. A flash of red emerged through the fog near a large tree not far from where something dark was slithering through the trees. "Rose, is that…" Rose squeezed Donna's arm to quiet her. They both remained still as the noise of croaking frogs and crickets went deathly silent.

An inky darkness slithered on the ground making it's way to where the flash of red had a appeared. Rose stood up and shouted "No!" The darkness paused as if considering her and slithered away, tendrils of it absorbing anything in it's path leaving a trail of something Rose couldn't even fathom. It was like she was looking at a shimmering swirl of white but it hurt to look at it. "The nothingness," she whispered.

Donna stood up and put her hand on Rose's shoulder. "Rose, what was that. Why does it look weird over there?"

Rose shivered and turned to Donna. "I don't know, Donna, but it's wrong. We've got to find the Doctor."

Donna turned around with a jerk to find the little red cloaked girl standing a few feet away from them. "Oi, little red ridin' hood, it's rude to sneak up on us like that!" Donna said to the girl Rose had met in her dreams. Rose stared at the girl who stood about five feet away from them, still dressed the same with her cloak partially obscuring her face.

"We aren't alone," she said, fidgeting, her black mary janes squishing in the mud.

"That so," Rose asked carefully. "Don't s'pose you want to tell me who else is about or maybe, I dunno, tell me more than you did last time about this Darkness?"

"It devours everything and leaves only nothingness," she responded, clutching a light colored basket in her hand.

"Yeah, we got that." Donna said crossing her arms. "Look here missy, you obviously know what's goin' on so enough with the riddles. What is this thing and how do we stop it," Donna demanded.

"Donna Noble, you can't stop it," the child said in a calm voice.

"Wait a minute, you said it was afraid of the Wolf and the Storm," Rose reminded her.

"One went shopping, two stayed home, another defended the Earth, two stood together strong and the Darkness went wee wee wee all the way home," the child said almost absently.

"Are you kiddin' me!" Donna said in exasperation. "Rose, the kid's barmy."

"Why you always talkin' in nursery rhymes?" Rose asked, but the girl was silent

"I'm not askin' the right questions am I?" Rose said and the girl smirked.

"This Darkness isn't from around here is it?" The girl tugged at her cloak. "And it's not alone. There's someone or something else makin' all this happen," Rose said, as she thought about what had happened so far.

"It is the harbinger of that which will come. It was loosed on the multiverse to devour everything that was, is or ever could be, so that those who freed it may control all things. They want to possess you."

"Why? I mean why me? You said it was afraid and when I screamed, it backed off."

"Wolves travel in packs. They are strong and loyal and defend their territory. When the wolf calls for the Storm, they fear what will come."

"Cause this Wolf and Storm can destroy it?" Donna asked.

"Nothing can destroy the Darkness."

They heard a shout. "That's the doctor!" Donna said, jumping up and looking around.

When Rose turned away the girl dashed off . "Wait! Why are you here now? What about the Doctor, is he safe?" Rose asked.

The girl peeked from around a tree. "Storms can be fierce, but without that which feeds them, they blow themselves out." She ran a bit further and stopped, She clasped the basket close to her chest and turned to Rose. "Not everything is as it seems. It will try to deceive you, Rose Tyler and all those you love. Reflections can be dangerous. It's quite clever."

Some birds flew out of the bushes and she gasped and darted further away. She stopped on the other side of the water where the mist was thinning. "Do you know who you are? For, they surely do . Find yourself, Rose Tyler and believe," she warned as she stepped back into the mist.

Donna and Rose looked at each other for a moment. "I swear if you start with the spooky rhyming thing, I'm gonna slap you," Donna warned, before she was tackled to the ground as something came hurtling out of the mist at them.

Mickey held tightly onto Martha as the thick swirling fog wrapped around them, cutting them off from their friends and the rest of this world until it was just the two of them standing snug in a blanket of white. Martha called out for their missing friends, but there was no response. It was complete silence.

"Weird," Mickey commented.

"I'll say. They were right in front of us. They should have heard me," Martha said, shifting a bit as the fog seemed to close in further around them.

"It's not just that. Listen. You can't here anythin'. No birds, crickets, not even the wind. Somethin's toyin' with us," Mickey said, staring into the dense white mist, his grip on Martha's hand tightening slightly.

"We can't just stand here. We've got to do something. What if they're hurt and can't call out for help?" Martha said worriedly.

"Or, they could be like us and can't hear anythin'." Mickey said. "Ya know, this is the part of travelin' with the Doctor I don't miss. Stuck on an alien world in some foggy deathtrap."

Martha turned to him. "Could be worse ya know. Least we're together," she reminded him with a slight smile.

Mickey smiled back at her. "You're all right Martha Jones. If I had to be stuck anywhere, glad it's with you." The faint sound of a child singing broke the silence. Mickey and Martha looked out into the fog and then back at each other.

"Martha, can I tell you somethin?" Mickey asked.

"Yeah," she answered softly shifting closer to him.

"I saw lots of things while I worked at Torchwood and nothin' good ever came out of a bunch of swirling fog, specially not one with creepy kids singin' in it.

Martha nodded. "So, you thinking what I'm thinking."

"Let's not wait for whatever's in this fog to come lookin' for us." Mickey said and began pulling Martha along side him as they made their way blindly through the fog back toward the Tardis, missing the little red hooded girl who stood off to the side holding her basket as she watched them leave.

Jack stood stock still as he was enveloped in the thick white mist, stranding him from everyone. He rolled up his sleeve and started tapping buttons on his Vortex Manipulator. "Ha! Gotcha!" he exclaimed as he began making his way forward through the fog. Unfortunately, the Vortex Manipulator did not identify the tree he walked into or the deep muck that he eventually sank into, sucked down to his knees.

"Swamps, I hate swamps," he muttered as he began tugging futile at his mud suctioned legs. Realizing there was no way he could pull himself out without leverage, he began scanning the area trying to see through the fog to find something to help pull him out. A breeze blew some of the fog away revealing some trees with branches dangling just out of reach. He heard a rustling in some bushes and grabbed his blaster.

A child emerged dressed in a red cloak. She swept it aside and walked up to him revealing a pale skinned child with disheveled dirty brown hair and dark cruel eyes dressed in a black jumper and red plaid skirt.

_"Immortal Jack did fall as he failed to save them all  
>Tried with all his might but he could not win this fight<br>So he sank in the muck until till all that was left was the blinding white"  
><em>

She said with an evil smile.

"Cute, kid. Don't suppose you want to give me hand then?" he asked, still gripping his blaster.

"You're wrong you know and you don't belong in this world. The Darkness is coming and it will devour everything even you. It heralds what will come. The Wolf and the Storm will fail." she said smirking. Another child appeared in the woods, also dressed in a red cape but she kept her face partially obscured. She had neat brown hair and brown eyes with a red plaid skirt and she carried a light colored wicker basket.

She looked frightened but determined, staring Jack in the eyes. Jack always felt he was a good judge of people and felt something familiar with this child. She wasn't a threat. He was sure that she was the survivor of something horrible. He watched her turn to the other little girl who smiled wickedly at her.

A thick black ooze slithered from the swamp behind the dark child making it's way toward the other child. The girl with the basket said one word. "No." The wind picked up and lightening flashed temporarily blinding Jack and he swore he heard a wolf howl. When he opened his eyes, both children and the black amoeba like creature were gone. A branch had been severed from a tree by the lightening falling close enough for him to reach.

He pulled himself out and rested for a moment, taking his boots off to empty them of water and muck. After cleaning up as much as he could, he checked his vortex manipulator and grinned. He turned around until it beeped and began making his way through the muck and wet grass toward what he hoped would be his friends.

As he stumbled his way through the thick mist, tripping over some unseen stump and catching his balance, he heard a voice ring out, "Oi, you watch where you're goin!" Jack stopped and looked around and was bout start walking when the voice sounded again. "I said watch were you put those clunky feet of yours! Not everyone is big clumsy oaf like you!" Jack looked down and before him sat an irate violet blue frog.

Jack smirked. "Sorry, didn't see you down there little fellow. So what's good lookin intelligent blue amphibian like you doing in spooky swamp like this," he asked with a charming smile.

The Frog stared at him. "Disgusting mammal! How dare you proposition me! You and your disrespectful females are not welcome here! Be gone before I call out my people to throw you into the eternal pit of slime!"

"All right, all right. Take it easy. Hey, did you say females?" Jack asked, eager to learn more.

"Yes, you're trespassing rude females nearly contaminated my hunting grounds with their warm mammalian appendages!"

"Uh, sorry about that. Don't suppose you could show me where they are so I can, you know retrieve them?"

If a frog could sigh, he did. "Humans. No sense of propriety or manners. Always barging in where you don't belong and without permission. Very well, keep straight through the grass by the fallen tree until you reach the pond. That's where I saw the vulgar creatures last. Find your females and remove yourselves from my lands or the next time we meet, you will find yourselves running from the powerful jaws of a hungry Gazier!" the irate frog informed him and hopped off.

Jack turned and started making his way in the direction the frog told him. "Been along time since I was told off by a testy frog," he murmured as he marched his way through the swamp. As he reached the fallen tree, he saw something moving through the muck. "Oh, I don't think so!" he almost yelled as an eight foot long armored crocodile type creature raced toward him. He turned and leapt through the foliage.

The Doctor stood in the fog, his eyes darkening with fury at the taunting nursery rhyme mixed with concern for his missing companions.

"Who are you?" he shouted. There was no response, just silence. "Show yourself!" He turned around in place, his keen Time Lord senses actively seeking out anything beyond the thick silent, white barrier of fog. He had analyzed the thick mist already and knew it was not a natural phenomena and the components indicated it was the residual effect of an unstable rift nearby. He shivered and felt something that prickled his time sense, like a pivotal point in time, yet it was more than that. There was a presence along with it. It was mocking him. All of his senses were screaming something was wrong and different and not just here on this planet. This was a much more large scale issue, like a reverberation through time and space.

"What do you think you're doing? I can sense you and feel your attempts to manipulate this timeline." he shouted out. Still there was silence. "You've gone to a lot of trouble to bring me here and separate me from my companions." He heard giggling and the white haze began to thin slightly. He stepped forward, even though he knew something was leading him into what could be a trap. Eventually, he found himself mired in the muck in the middle of tall pink swamp grass as high as his chest. A flash of red caught his attention.

"I'm tired of this game. Whatever or whoever you are, you have my attention now. Tell me what you want and bring my friends back," he said, emphasizing "back."

A red hooded child emerged several feet in front of him, her hood pulled back revealing dirty brown hair, pale skin and dark menacing eyes.

"Evil red riding hood," he murmured to himself.

"You are the destroyer of everything," she said with a smirk. He winced. "Killer of your own kind and murderer of hundreds of races. You think you can stop us and keep this universe on a course your design. The Darkness comes and it devours everything. It is the harbinger of what is to come."

"Who are you? Who sent you? He demanded What have you done with my friends!"

She giggled and swirled her cape around as she spun in a circle.

_In a Tardis in a wood  
>A little old Time Lord by the window stood<br>Saw the masses screaming and running by  
>Knocking at his door as the Darkness arrived<em>

_Help us! Help us! Time Lord they cry  
>Or the Darkness will devour us all and we will surely die<br>Helpless was the Time Lord as it all came to pass_

_Soon he faded away as the new lords of universe arrived in masse_

"You think I'm so easily manipulated by some bad poetry? And, I mean bad and that's saying something cause I've been around," he said, babbling a bit. "He looked at her. "I've faced worst than this, than some faceless coward that takes on the persona of a child taunting me with twisted nursery rhymes. You're not even here, just some psychic projection on a world you know shouldn't exist. It's not even impressive. Just a cheap parlor trick."

He made his way through the thick muck, his long coat dragging through the muddy water as he circled the red cloaked girl. "I know my friends are here, tucked away in the swamp. It's only a matter of time before I find them or they find me. They're not exactly the kind to just give up, my friends. They have a tendency to fight for what they believe in and I know they won't let you, whoever you are, come and destroy this universe." He paused close to the child and stared coldly at her.

"Now give them back to me!" he said in a tight angry voice.

"You don't control us Time Lord," she answered and looked off to the side. He turned and watched the obsidian darkness slide its way toward them absorbing everything it touched. The thick black ooze engorged itself and spread quickly until it was only a few feet from him. All of his senses were on fire as a memory from long ago surfaced in all it's horrible clarity. He turned to the girl.

"Stop this! Stop it now! You don't know what you've unleashed!" he shouted at her.

"Did you really think you could stop us?" she asked, smiling as the sinister black amoeba-like creature slithered and slide its way closer to them. The Doctor pulled out his sonic, a look of terror in his eyes. Suddenly, he felt a small hand gripping his. He looked down into warm brown eyes amidst a scarlet cloak.

"It's the harbinger of the darkness to come. It eats everything, every moment until there is nothingness," she said sadly.

"Not while I'm here it won't," he said, suddenly infused with confidence. He looked down at the child who stared at the slithering mass approaching them. "You're the one that helped Rose aren't you? So whose the evil doppelganger then?"

"It's clever and cunning but it can be stopped. When the wolf howls, it hesitates. It knows a storm is coming."

The Doctor felt a chill pass through him. "Who are they? Who set the Darkness loose?"

"They want to control everything," She answered.

"It's afraid of Rose and I together," he murmured. "But why?"

"Doctor," the girl said softly.

He looked back down at her and noticed the dark creature inched closer to them, but slower now. It seemed to be hesitating. "Who are you?" he asked the child. She looked at him solemnly, but remained silent. He turned and faced the dark version of the red-hooded child and aimed his sonic at her.

"None of this is real. This is all some experiment. You and whoever is behind this is toying with this time line, this reality and me. This is done now," he said with confidence and activated his sonic. Thunder rumbled the sky and strong winds blew through the swamp, clearing it of the mist.

The evil girl stared at him frowning. "Don't be so smug Time Lord," she said as she backed away and started spinning. _"The multiverse is falling down, falling down, falling down, the multiverse is falling down all round Rosey. Soon the Time Lord will lose his Rose, Lose his Rose, Lose his Rose and soon the Time Lord will lose his Rose and he can't stop it."_ She laughed and disappeared into the grass. When the Doctor looked back toward the other child, she was gone too leaving him standing alone in the swamp grass with troubling thoughts about the dark creature now roaming free and even more worrisome, where it came from.

Thunder rumbled across the swamp and large, cold drops of rain began falling shaking him out of his thoughts. This world was nothing but a manipulation of time, matter and energy never intended to be permanent. He could already feel the beginnings of it's unmaking and knew soon, it would disappear as if it never existed. He had to find his companions and quickly.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank you to my awesome beta, a_who_in_whoville. Although, any mistakes are mine since I always tinker with it after she looks it over. Yes, the end of this chapter alludes to a certain DW episode that takes place on Mars. Thanks to my Dalekian Sistahs for giving me the oomph to do this!

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who nor do I own the italicized quote spoken by the little girl about rain - that belongs to Dr. Seuss

_Donna and Rose looked at each other for a moment. "I swear if you start with the spooky rhyming thing, I'm gonna slap you," Donna warned, before she was tackled to the ground as something came hurtling out of the mist at them._

Donna swore as she found herself laying in the muck with a heavy Jack Harkness laying on top of her.

"Get off me!" she shouted and began pounding on his back as he rolled over so that they were laying in a tangle of limbs facing each other, still laying in the mud.

"Thanks for the soft landing," he said with a cheeky grin. "And, I do mean soft in all the right places."

"Soft Landing! Look it me!" she shouted as she looked at the mud caking her and the moisture leeching into her clothes from the ground. "I look like one of those bleedin' mud people the Doctor saved from bein' dissolved on that planet Floristawhatsits!"

"Well, you're a real hot lookin' mud person," he said with a wink.

Donna slapped him. "Stop it! Now help me up out of this mess!" she demanded.

"And, next time watch were you're goin'."

Rose stepped forward. "Jack, how'd you find us?"

After Jack pulled Donna up, he turned to Rose. "Well, I started with my Vortex manipulator," he said, tapping the device strapped to his wrist. "Scanned for signs of any humans nearby. Got a little waylaid by some creepy lookin' girl in a red cape and her twin and then ran into a cheeky frog. He told me about a couple of rude females and I just figured he meant you."

"Oi!" Donna interrupted.

Jack smirked. "Anyway, he pointed me in this direction and after a brief run-in with a nasty, armored crocodile, here I am come to rescue you," he said and bowed to Rose.

Rose looked at him with a worried face. "You said a creepy lookin' girl in a red cape and her twin. Did they say anything to you?" Rose asked.

Jack's smile fell. "You too, huh? Well, one was a vindictive little nasty piece of work. The other…. I don't know. I just felt like I knew her and she was sad, hurt maybe... but hopeful. I think she saved me," he said quietly.

Rose nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. There's more to them than appears."

"A couple of nutters if you ask me. Always talkin' in rhymes and nonsense. All ominous Darkness and some Storm and Wolf fairytales," Donna asserted, still brushing the mud off.

Jack stiffened and shared a look with Rose.

"Jack, we need to find the Doctor. I think I might have an idea what some of this means and it's not good."

Thunder rumbled and a huge gust of wind blew through the swamp sweeping the rest of the mist away. "A storm's comin," Donna said, looking up at the swirl of dark clouds in the sky.

Rose felt her stomach drop. Jack walked over and put his hand on her arm, "You okay?" he asked, looking at her concerned.

"I don't know," she said shaking her head. "Let's just find the Doctor."

Mickey and Martha had not made it far into the mist before finding themselves deep in mud and thick, pink swamp grass as tall as their chests. They once again heard a child singing before thunder rumbled and the wind picked up. A little girl in a red cloak appeared next to Martha. She looked up at Martha, one of her brown braids falling free from the cloak that partially obscured her face.

"_The storm starts when the drops start dropping. When the drops stop dropping, the storm starts stopping." _the child said to Martha.

"Who are you? Where'd you come from?" Martha asked, nervously.

"Rose said she saw a little girl in her dream," Mickey said as he looked at the red hooded girl. "So what, you like an avatar or somethin'? You come here to warn us?"

The child looked up at them. "Stay on the yellow brick road and it will take you home."

Mickey looked over at Martha, who looked appeared perturbed.

"What, like the Wizard of Oz? You saying we're stuck in some type of children's story gone wrong?" Martha asked.

"Nothing is as it seems. Be wary of reflections. The Darkness is coming and it will devour everything. But when the wolf howls, it knows a storm is coming. Dorothy and her Tin Dog will stand at the gates of the city at the heart of what is to come."

"But…" Martha started to say before she heard the Doctor calling out for them.

"Rose! Donna!"

"Mickey, that's the Doctor!" she exclaimed as both she and Mickey looked across the pink grass to catch a glimpse of the Doctor's brown coat. Mickey and Martha called out and when they turned back, the red hooded child was gone.

"Where'd she go?" Mickey asked as the Doctor pushed his way through the grass.

"Martha Jones and Mr. Mickey! Brilliant! Knew you'd be all right. Have you seen the others?" he asked smiling.

"Honestly Doctor, the only other livin' thing we've seen is this little red hooded girl and I'm not even sure she was real," Martha said, scanning the area for the child.

The Doctor's grin at finding them fell. "This child, did she say anything to you?" he asked.

"She, didn't make much sense. It was all stuff about wolves, storms and the Wizard of Oz." Mickey said.

"The Wizard of Oz? As in the film?" the Doctor asked, trying to figure out what that meant. "Didn't happen to see any evil lookin' flying monkeys did you?" he asked.

"Don't even start," Mickey said, shaking his head and looking nervously at the sky.

"Actually Doctor, I think she meant Mickey and me. She kept talkin' about a yellow brick road, Dorothy and the Tin Dog," Martha said.

The Doctor looked at her and then Mickey and snickered.

"Oi, watch it!" Mickey warned. "So what happened to all the fog and who is that girl?" he asked.

"Oh well, had a little chat with evil red riding hood. With a little help from our friendly red hooded girl, we sorted things out. A bit mysterious good red riding hood, but quite helpful." Thunder rumbled again and the wind picked up. "We need to find the others and get out of here. This planet is disintegrating," the Doctor informed them, looking out at the pink sea of grass blowing in the wind.

"Evil red riding hood?" Mickey asked, as they followed the Doctor making their way through thick pink swamp grass.

"Doctor, you said there's two of them? She said nothing was as it seems and to be wary of reflections," Martha said. "Are the two of them reflections? One good and one evil?"

The Doctor paused and turned to look at Martha. "Two halves of a whole which are both opposite and equal. This is about more than two little girls. They're part of something bigger and far more dangerous."

"Avatars," Mickey said. "That's what they are. They're representin' something' or someone. It's like a video game."

The Doctor stared at him. "Two sides fighting for dominance or two possible outcomes," the Doctor whispered.

A scream pierced the air as lightening crashed down near them. "That was Rose!" the Doctor shouted into the wind and took off. Mickey and Martha raced behind him. They emerged from the ocean of tall grass into a jungle of tangled trees creaking and groaning in the wind. Branches snapped and fell all around them. The wind was gusting and rain was pelting them and felt like a spray of shot gun pellets. They struggled forward covering their faces from the water and debris assaulting them, slogging through muck and climbing over plants until the rain died down and they reached an elevated area near a pond.

A large armadillo-like crocodile was standing on two legs snapping at the dangling feet of Rose Tyler as Jack gripped her arms while standing on a limb of a tall tree. Donna stood at the base of the limb clinging to the trunk staring in horror at the dinosaur-like reptile trying to make a snack of Rose. A crack sounded and the branch shifted under Jack's weight, lowering Rose closer to the snapping jaws of the armored crocodile. Rose shrieked and Jack pulled her up closer to him.

"Rose, you have to grip the branch so I can reach my blaster," Jack ordered.

The alien crocodile lunged at Rose's legs and she kicked it in the snout eliciting a growl and hiss from it. The Doctor pulled out his sonic and aimed it at the beast just as Jack had Rose grip the branch and pulled out his blaster. Both of them aimed at the angry reptile just as the storm picked up. The Doctor set the sonic at a pitch to irritate the creature and it shook its head and backed away until it had slunked it's way into the water and submerged itself. The branch cracked again and Rose cried out. Jack pocketed his blaster and grabbed her, hauling her up and backed toward the trunk so that their weight was on the thickest portion of the branch.

Rose threw her arms around him and clung to him. "Memories eh, sweetheart? Not exactly as romantic as a Chula warship in the middle of the Blitz but I dunno, something about a hint of danger and all this fresh air just makes you…." Jack said flirtatiously.

"Jack!" Donna yelled, still clinging to the trunk of the tree. "Not the time! I want out of this tree and away from this bloody swamp with its rude frogs, maneatin' crocodiles and smelly mud!" Donna shouted, now at the end of her patience.

The Doctor stomped forward and glared up at Jack. Jack hugged Rose tightly and looked down at the Doctor and winked. "Hand Rose to me now!" the Doctor shouted up to Jack, a dark look in his eyes.

"Hand Rose to you? What about me? I'm clingin' for my life here!" Donna shouted down at him. A gust of wind hit the tree, Donna yelped and wrapped her self around the trunk as the branch Rose and Jack were on snapped. The Doctor ran up and caught Rose, and Jack plummeted to the ground landing with a thud.

Rose looked up at the Doctor and smiled. "Hello," she said with a huge smile, happy to see him.

"Hello," he said softly, all prior dark jealous behavior evaporated.

"Oi, enough with the googly eyes! Get me down!" Donna shouted.

Jack groaned and sat up and looked at Rose in the Doctor's arms and smiled a bit before wincing at a stick poking him in the side. "Hey, what about me?" he called out.

"What about you?" the Doctor said, looking down at Jack while still cradling Rose in his arms."

"Oi! Still in the tree!" Donna complained.

"Jack go get Donna out of the tree," the Doctor ordered, grinning at Rose.

"Why me? I just fell outta that tree. Why don't you get Donna?" Jack asked slowly rising.

"Cos A, I've got Rose and two, you put Donna in the tree."

"Wait a minute! I saved Rose and Donna from getting eaten by a crocodile by taking refuge in the tree," Jack defended.

"I don't give a flip who did what! Just get me down NOW!" Donna reminded them, fed up with the delay. The Doctor glared at Jack.

"Fine, I'll rescue Donna," he said, walking over to the trunk of the tree and looking up at Donna. "Okay Donna, just shimmy down and jump. I'll catch you," he said, holding his arms out.

"Jump from up here? Are you barmy?" she answered, shooting him an irritated look.

"Doctor, maybe you should put me down and go help?" Rose said to the Doctor, wiggling a bit in his arms.

The Doctor looked at her and smiled. "I don't have to put you down to solve this. Besides, if I put you down you'd wander off and who knows how much trouble you'd find." Rose gave him a perturbed look. He winked at her and then looked up at Donna still clinging to the trunk of the tree, her footing slipping. "Donna! It'll be all right. No different than jumping from a taxi into the Tardis. Remember?"

"Oh no you don't! There's a huge difference. That was like three feet from a taxi to the Tardis. This is falling fifteen feet or more on Captain Flirt down there."

The storm picked up speed and the wind began gusting, shaking the trees including the one that Donna clung to precariously. They all began to be pelted by leaves, small branches and all manner of debris from the swamp. There was a cracking noise and Donna screamed as she started to slide, soon falling from the tree into Jack's arms. Jack fell backwards and ended up on his back on the soft swampy ground with Donna straddling him. He looked up at her with a cheeky grin. "Hey gorgeous, want learn all the fun things we can do in the mud?" he asked with a naughty grin.

"Oh shut it!" Donna said, while trying to hide a smile. She stood up and held her hand out to Jack helping him up and then turned to the Doctor. "Fat lot of help you were," she told the Doctor.

"Oi, I had my hands full," he retorted, nodding toward Rose.

"All of you shut it!" Mickey shouted. "Look at the sky!"

They looked up to see the dark clouds swirling around a vortex with lightning flashing within it and occasionally striking downward toward the ground.

"Oh that's so not good," the Doctor said and set Rose down.

"We runnin' then?" Rose asked, still staring at the Vortex.

The Doctor looked over at her, grinned and reached for her hand. "All right you lot, holiday in the swamp is over!" He then proceeded to run through the swamp with Rose at his side followed closely behind by everyone else. It was a miserable trip back to the Tardis, dashing through wet foliage, slugging through muck and avoiding flying debris from the storm, not to mention lightning striking near them as they ran. They even saw Philias frog flying through the air cursing as the wind gusted. They narrowly avoided falling branches and a falling tree, but the sight of the Tardis ahead gave all of them the second wind they needed to reach her.

Once inside, the Doctor ran to the console, sending them into the vortex, shaking and bumping violently. Once things smoothed out, the wet and mud-encrusted group looked over at him accusingly.

"What?" he asked as he scraped his trainers on the grating to knock off some mud.

"Swamp world!" Donna said as she grimaced and pulled some leaves out of her hair.

"Donna, there are more important things than worrying about getting pelted with a bit of rain and mud. That planet should never have existed. Probably doesn't exist anymore. All that turbulence was from it disintegrating and the timeline reasserting itself."

"So the planet is gone now like it never existed?" Rose asked.

"Yes. It never should have existed. Someone is playing around with things they couldn't possibly understand. Trying to manipulate time and the universe."

"But there was life on that world. So you're saying it just got unmade?" Rose looked over at Donna. "Poor Philias," she said softly.

"Philias?" the Doctor asked.

"He just tells us that someone's mucking about with the universe makin' and unmakin' worlds and your worried about a rude talkin' frog?" Donna said, rolling her eyes as she walked over and fell into the jump seat to remove her shoes and empty them of mud.

"Do you mean Prince Philias the frog? But he's brilliantly!" the Doctor said with enthusiasm. "Wait a minute! Philias never lived on Quetaloria. He's from Flibbit and that's light years from here. Someone really did a rubbish job recreating that world," he said and began to pace.

"Doctor, you said there was more to what was happening. More than the two little girls," Martha reminded him, as she peeled off her wet and dirty jacket.

"Yeah Doctor, what's with the creepy little girls and this Darkness? I mean should we be headin' back to Earth and getting' ready for somethin' bad? Anythin' that can make and unmake entire planets sounds like it doesn't much care about any life," Mickey said.

The Doctor stopped pacing and turned to face Mickey. "The little girls aren't the problem," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. He looked down at his trainers and then back up toward the door. "It's the Darkness and whatever or whoever freed it."

"What do you mean freed it?" Mickey asked.

"It was contained out of time and out of space, suspended in a state it couldn't escape from. At least, not unless you knew how to release it. There was only one species capable of freeing it and they're all gone."

Jack's eyes widened a bit. "There was a legend in my time. Kind of a spooky bed time story like Time Lords and Daleks were to us. It was about things that weren't like any other life forms. They weren't really alive and nothing could destroy them. It was said they were created to end the universe, the ultimate weapon of mass destruction. But, there was no proof they existed other than whispers by insane or superstitious creatures. It doesn't exist," Jack said, almost like he was trying to convince them.

Rose realized what he was getting at and walked over to the Doctor. The Doctor turned and looked at her. "Not a legend. I know. I was there and I saw what it can do," he whispered.

"The Time War," Rose said softly.

"No," whispered Jack, shaking his head.

"What?" asked Donna. "What is this thing? What's it got to do with this Time War?" she asked.

The Doctor turned to her. "I told you, Time Lord weaponry is far more advanced than anything you could conceive."

"What that black thing in the swamp? That's a weapon?" Donnas asked looking from Rose to the Doctor.

Rose looked at him, a cold feeling running through her. She gripped the Doctor's arm and he looked into her eyes. He was filled with anguish, fear and something dark. He swallowed hard. "That black thing as you call it is a highly advanced weapon used in the Time War capable of destroying a planet in hours or an entire galaxy in a matter of days."

"That thing could destroy our solar system in a blink of an eye," Mickey repeated. "That's just great and I suppose there's nothin' we can do to stop it?" Mickey asked, tensing up and beginning to pace.

"It's not that simple," the Doctor answered darkly. "What Rose has been calling the Darkness is not truly a sentient being as you know it. It was a creation meant to be controlled. It was devised by some of the most brilliant minds of Gallifrey, constructed of energy, raw time, antimatter and things you couldn't have a concept of. They were so proud of their cleverness when it came into being. My people may have taken a vow not to interfere but the Time War changed that. Suddenly, they were willing to cross the ethical and moral line to do what they had to in order to defeat the Daleks, even if it meant unleashing a weapon that could not only unmake the universe, it could break it down into its base components.

"The nothingness," Rose whispered. "When Donna and I watched it in the swamp, everywhere it touched became like a swirling iridescent whiteness. It was hard to look. It was like I couldn't process it or something."

"Your mind wouldn't be able to comprehend nothingness," he affirmed

"Doctor, you said it was unleashed, that only one species could unleash it but they're all gone. You meant the Time Lords, yeah? So, if Time Lords were the only ones and you didn't do it, how'd it get out?" Rose asked.

"That is the question isn't it. Who freed it and why?" The Doctor mused.

"Well isn't it obvious that someone wants to control the universe? You said they recreated Quetaloria and then unmade it. Maybe that was a practice run for something bigger," Martha suggested.

"Oh it's more than that. It's a bit personal. They wanted me there to see what they had done. Whoever it is wants to taunt me, prove what they can do and tell me I can't stop it," he clipped out, pacing and whipping his coat around in a fury.

"They think that I can't stop them but they're wrong. I won't stand idly by and watch them unleash that horror on an unsuspecting universe. I will stop them and send it back where it belongs."

Donna stood up. "The little girl, the nice one, said it couldn't be destroyed," Donna said softly.

"Donna's right, she said nothing can destroy the Darkness. I've seen it twice now and both times, it stopped when I called out. In my dream, she said it was afraid of the wolf."

"That's right!" Martha exclaimed. "She said, 'When the wolf howls, it knows a storm is coming.'"

"But that's nothing but fairytales and gibberish," Donna said walking over to Rose and crossing her arms in thought.

The Doctor turned and stared at Rose. "You said when you called out, it stopped."

"Yeah, the first time I screamed and it shrank back, and the second time in the swamp it was goin' after the nice little girl and I shouted 'No' and it stopped again."

"Wait a minute," Jack said, walking up to Rose. "Little cutie pie came to visit me with her evil twin. That thing was coming for me when I was stuck in the mud and Good Red shouted out 'No' and a storm whipped up and it stopped and disappeared," Jack said pausing. "What the Hell does that mean?"

"It means that Rose is different from anyone in the universe. It doesn't know what to make of her. We need to use that to our advantage." the Doctor said, staring at Rose calculatingly.

"Wait a minute. You're not usin' Rose to do anything' less she wants to," Mickey announced.

The Doctor turned to Mickey with hard eyes. "Do you really think I want to put Rose in danger? Did you think I wanted to destroy my own people?" he asked tightly. "I'm the Time Lord here and it's my responsibility to protect this universe. There's no one else left to do it but me. I'm not going to stand here in my ship and listen to a bunch of primitive humans whinge about what must be done." He turned to Rose. "Rose understands, maybe better than all of you. She's visited dozens of universes and seen how bad things could get. She's been in the Void and seen…." He paused as he tried to contain his emotions. "The horror of what could be, the starkness of the Howling. Rose knows what you could only have nightmares about."

He turned and paced around looking at all of them. He stopped drawing himself up to full height and looked at them arrogantly. "Don't presume to tell me what I can and cannot do. My people set the course for this universe before Earth was even a speck of dust."

Before anyone could say another word, Martha's mobile rang breaking the tension. She answered and after a quick terse conversation, snapped her mobile shut. "I'm needed on Earth. There's still a lot of turmoil after the Daleks. Doctor, if you need me…."

"No," he interrupted tersely. "You're needed on Earth. It's important now more than ever for you to be there," he said. Rose walked up and squeezed his hand. He seemed to relax. "Martha, you may be the only sane voice in Unit at the moment. After all, that lot was going to have you destroy the entire planet. Besides, if anything related to the Darkness happens, I want someone I trust there to let me know."

Martha smiled. "Thank you, Doctor. I promise, I'll keep an eye on things. You know, if you or Rose need anything, I'm just a phone call away."

Mickey stepped up next to Martha. "I'd like to go with Martha. That is, if she doesn't mind," Mickey said, smiling almost shyly at her.

Martha smiled warmly at him. "Of course, Earth could always use another defender. Especially one with experience with Daleks and all the weirdness you get with traveling with the Doctor," Martha said.

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other and smiled. Jack stepped forward. "Guess I should be checking in with Torchwood. Just to make sure there's nothing gone wonky with the rift."

The Doctor nodded. "Of course. The Tardis could use a pit stop." The Doctor turned around and set coordinates. "Right, next stop Cardiff!" he announced, all previous anger appeared to be gone but there was still a slight tension just under the surface. The ship gently rocked and vibrated as it traveled through the vortex. Rose walked over and hugged Martha and Mickey, making sure they had each other's mobile numbers. The Tardis landed with a thump and everyone gathered near the door.

"Better let me go out first. My team is likely to be a bit jumpy after dealing with the Daleks," Jack announced and swung the door open. He turned around and looked at the Doctor. "Uh Doctor, last time I checked Cardiff had a bit more atmosphere," Jack said, standing away from the door.

"What?" the Doctor said and walked to the door. Before him was a planet with little to no atmosphere. The ground consisted of fine red dust and was pitted with craters. In the distance, a stark base consisting of metallic biodomes connected together like spokes on a wheel stretched before him a few hundred meters from the Tardis.

"This isn't Cardiff. He turned around and ran back to the console. Mars, 2059," he said softly, staring at the door.


	6. Chapter 6

a/n: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapt! As always, a big round of applause for **who_in_whoville** who was very patient and listened to me rambling on about this plot as well as serving as beta extraordinaire. Also, a big shout out to all my Dalekian Sisters who have helped me become a better writer. This fic would not exist without their support. Big squishy hugs to ya my Sistahs! This chapt as you may have guessed incorporates Waters of Mars - some of the dialog of that ep is included word for word and some I have tinkered with. It has been modified to fit this story. This is NOT a fluffy chapt and does deal with Time Lord Victorious.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who and some of the dialog in this is from the ep Waters of Mars which I do not own either.

_This isn't Cardiff. He turned around and ran back to the console. Mars, 2059," he said softly, staring at the door._

"Doctor, there something wrong?" Rose asked, concerned for him.

"Why Mars?" the Doctor asked absently, ignoring everyone and beginning to run some scans of the area.

"Mars. Well isn't that wizard!" Donna exclaimed, as she felt some of the mud beginning to crust everywhere it was stuck to her. She turned to Rose and the others having decided she was done with being a mud-caked mess. "Call me when spaceman comes up for air. I'm over all this mud," Donna said and walked off for a long hot bath.

After Donna left, Mickey walked across the room. "Why do I think this is all goin' from bad to worse," he said, and collapsed into the jump seat figuring it would take a while before the Doctor realized they were all still standing around.

Martha looked at Jack who had an expression of concentration on his face. "Jack? Something bothering you?" she asked.

"Something about 2059 and Mars is familiar but I just can't put my finger on it," he said, pacing a bit.

Rose's face frowned with concentration. Something about this place felt weird to her. She didn't know what the feeling meant other than it felt like a tautly stretched wire about to snap if you even touched it. She walked back up to the Doctor who had his glasses on and was tugging at his hair. After what seemed like ages, he finally sighed and stepped back.

"Doctor, this have something to do with whatever's controlling the Darkness?" Rose asked. "We here for a reason you think?"

He looked at her and smiled "Oh we're always here for a reason! Now then, you lot have been through enough and I'm sure," he paused and picked some leaves out of Rose's hair, "you need a rest and well, maybe a good scrubbing. I'm going to go take a stroll and see what's going on outside and be back in a jiff!" he announced a bit too enthusiastically and went bounding out of the console room.

Rose, Jack, Martha and Mickey looked at each other nervously. "Does anyone else think he's a little more highly strung than usual?" Jack asked, leaning against a support strut. Rose walked over and caressed the console. "I dunno, Jack. I mean this whole thing's got him on edge. Maybe the Tardis set down so that he could walk it off," Rose suggested.

"On Mars?" Mickey asked. "Just how is he s'pose to do that? Not like there's a lot of air out there."

"Yeah, but it's quiet and peaceful. Maybe he needs time away from us to think and you know, focus," Rose suggested hopefully.

"Honey, he can do that on the Tardis. Something else is going on. I mean that little display of temper earlier was extreme even for him. I love the Doctor as much as you, but that little show was just this side of wacko," Jack said with a symbolic hand gesture.

"Sorry, Rose but I agree with Jack. I've seen him morose, cranky and a bit manic but I'm worried and not just for him," Martha said with emphasis. "You know you're welcome to come back to UNIT with me and I don't just mean now. Anytime. If things get bad and you need a place to go, call me," Martha said, concern for Rose's well being evident in her voice.

Rose looked from Jack to Martha to Mickey. "You're serious. You think he's…" She never finished as the Doctor came back in a very familiar orange space suit. She just stared at him.

He winked at her. "Remember this?" he said and turned around in place, holding out the helmet.

"Yeah. Impossible planet, homicidal Ood and the Devil. Not my favorite trip," she said, worried at his glee.

"Oh come on! We defeated the evil creature and got the Tardis back! Not to mention there was a rather spectacular 'we lived' hug," he said grinning.

Rose walked up to him and threw her arms around him and held him tight. "Just be careful, yeah," she said as she laid a quick kiss on his cheek and helped him put on his helmet.

"Oh you know me," he said, once he was geared up. He winked at her and nodded at Jack as he left the Tardis. Rose and Jack watched him as he stepped beyond the atmospheric shield of the Tardis and gently bounced a bit toward the base in the distance.

"I don't like it," Martha said, shaking her head. "He shouldn't be alone when he's like this."

Rose stared at him and turned around facing them. "You're right." She started walking toward the corridor.

"Where you goin?" Mickey asked.

She stopped. "There's got to be more than one of them space suits about," she answered and left them staring after her.

As the Doctor walked away from the Tardis, he slowed his pace enjoying the quiet and peace of the red desert landscape of Mars. Something was itching at the back of his mind but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He was definitely on edge given the revelation that the Darkness was now loose to wreak havoc in the universe.

The accusations and sheer insolence of his passengers were also grating on his nerves.

"Who do they think they are to question me! I'm the Time Lord and have centuries of experience, vastly superior knowledge and intellect compared to some apes like them," He thought to himself. "They'd be better off back on Earth. Yes, that's where they need to be, back in their own timeline. Clearly, their only thought is about their precious planet while I have all of time and space to consider. Well, that and Rose."

He smiled. Yes, he definitely was ready for there to be fewer people on the Tardis. Everything would be much simpler with just him, Rose and Donna. His best mates understood and trusted him implicitly. After all, he'd survived countless conflicts, wars and the impossible. He kicked a rock and watched it shoot off skipping across the landscape in the low gravity atmosphere. An incredible satisfaction, confidence and arrogance filled him. There was nothing he couldn't accomplish.

He continued walking, pausing only when a few meteorites zipped through the sky flashing like spectacular fireworks as they crashed into the surface miles away. Soon he was approaching the outskirts of the base he had seen from the Tardis. He paused a minute to marvel at the structure which he recognized was a typical human design. It consisted of a series of four domes linked by tunnels to a central hub. A rocket tower stood to one side.

As he observed the base, he thought he saw a dark shadow move quickly over one of the red sand dunes. Immediately he tensed, worried about what it could be. He was abruptly shaken out of his study of the dunes by a three foot tall robot. It looked like a human exploratory drone, except it had a round sphere at the top housing a camera lens and two arm-like appendages.

"Oh, Hello there," the Doctor called out and then noticed that one of the appendages held a gun pointed at him.

"You are under arrest for trespassing, Gadget Gadget," it said in a mechanical voice.

"Well that's not very friendly," he commented, before lifting his hands up. The little white robot nudged him forward into an airlock where he removed the orange suit and helmet. He was quickly escorted to a sterile looking white domed room with three people in it: two women and a man. A uniformed woman with blond hair tied up on her head stepped forward aiming a gun at him. "State your name, rank and intention," she stated sternly.

He stared at the gun warily before looking her in the eye. "The Doctor." He paused and smirked a bit. "Doctor." He paused again and thought about it. "Fun," he eventually said with a bit of cocky attitude.

A young German woman in a similar uniform held up his orange suit. "Look at this. I've never seen anything like it," she said examining it.

A man wearing a similar uniform to hers burst in. "What's going on? I mean, I heard a man just waltzed in. A man here? Has mission control said what we should do?" he asked, staring t the Doctor as if he was some new specimen.

"We're out of range for the next ten hours," the German woman said, staring at the Doctor.

"Cut the chit chat everyone," the blonde woman said firmly, still staring unhappily at the Doctor.

The Doctor grinned. "Ohhh but chat's second on my list, the first being gun, pointed at my head. Which then puts my head second and chat third, I think. Gun, head, chat, yeah. I hate lists. But you could hurt someone with that. Could you just maybe put it down?"

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" She responded, still holding the gun.

"Well, yes but wouldn't anyone?"

"Why should I? How do I know you haven't come here to sabotage us? Why should I trust you?"

"Cos here on this planet 45,000,000 miles from Earth, it's just us. I'm unarmed and I give you my word. I have no intention on harming you, your crew or your mission." She stared at him. "Really, isn't trust all we have here?" he said and looked at her name tag. "Captain Adelaide Brooke."

She slowly lowered her gun. "Keep Gadget covering him," she ordered the young man next to Gadget.

The Doctor turned to the young man near the robot known as Gadget. He nodded his head at the Doctor and manipulated a special glove on his hand that appeared to control Gadget. Gadget moved and said, "Gadget, Gadget."

"Oh, auto glove response," the Doctor said, with a slight smile.

The young man smiled proudly. "Yes, built him myself." He then showed how he controlled Gadget.

"A bit flimsy," the Doctor said critically.

The young man looked offended. Gadget seemed to stare at the Doctor and said, "Gadget, Gadget."

"A bit annoying. Does he have to say that?" the Doctor asked, frowning.

"I think it's funny," the young man whose tag identified him as Edward Gold asserted defensively.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Not a fan of humans trying to make their robots so…cartoonish."

Before the Doctor could be any more insulting, a female voice came over the communications system. "Captain, something's moving outside. It….it looks like a person," she said worried.

Captain Brooke turned to the Doctor. "Well Doctor, you want to explain this to me?" she said with a hard glare.

The Doctor pulled at his ear. "Uh, another lost tourist?" he suggested.

"You think your clever don't you." Captain Brooke send with no humor in her voice.

"Well I am clever. Probably the cleverest person you'll ever meet," he responded with a huge grin.

The female voice came over the comlink. "Captain, the person's knocking on the airlock door."

"Ed, you and Gadget go get whoever this is," she commanded, unhappy with all the intrusions. The German woman, Mia, stepped over to a vid screen to watch their newest visitor.

"What about him?" Ed asked, glaring at the Doctor who had insulted Gadget.

"I'll keep an eye on him. He's not going anywhere," Captain Brooke answered, staring coldly at the Doctor.

Before long, in strode Rose with Ed and Gadget.

"There you are! Figured I'd find you in trouble," Rose said to the Doctor. She then turned to Captain Brooke "Hello, I'm Rose Tyler. Sorry 'bout the Doctor, I know he can be rude. He has been rude hasn't he?" she asked charmingly.

"Ms. Tyler, I am Captain Adelaide Brooke and I insist you tell me what the hell you and this Doctor are doing here."

Rose turned to the Doctor and raised an eyebrow. He looked at her innocently. "Well what did the Doctor tell you?" Rose asked.

"He hasn't and I'm asking you," Captain Brooke said.

"We sort of landed her by accident. The Doctor went out to look around and well, he's a bit rubbish on his own to be honest so I followed him."

"I am not rubbish! You've been talking to Donna haven't you?" he said defensively almost pouting.

"This is Bowie Base One, a research facility not a tourist stop!" Captain Brooke said loudly to get the Doctor's attention. "Now, where is your ship!" she demanded.

Before the Doctor could answer, the commlink came to life. Captain, we've lost contact with the agriculture lab."

"Is there a malfunction in the comm system?"

"Negative."

"What about the Vid system? Patch it through to me." Captain Brooke walked over to a monitor and Rose sidled up to the Doctor.

Before Rose said anything, they heard Gadget sing song "Starlight, star bright who will lose his Rose tonight. I know, a poor little broken Time Lord that's who! The Darkness will come and sweep her away and he will do nothing but weep and wither away."

The Doctor swallowed hard. "Rose, did you…."

"Yeah," she answered softly looking around. "Don't think they did though."

"Riiiight," he responded, staring at Gadget lost in thought about what that meant. Suddenly, it occurred to him that Rose was standing next to him. "So you what, just went out wandering for a stroll and popped into the base for tea?" he asked cheekily trying to lighten the mood after the scary pronouncement by Gadget.

"Yeah, that's it. Nothing like tea on some base on Mars," she answered dryly.

Something caught his attention and stiffened. "Wait, did she say this is Bowie Base One?" he asked softly, looking at Captain Brooke.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?" Rose asked.

"Excuse me, Captain Brooke, you did say this is Bowie Base Number one? Founded July 1st, 2058? Established in the Gusev Crater?"

Yes, we've been here seventeen months," Ed responded. The entire world knows that! We're the first, famous and all that."

"I don't know what you're playing at but I don't have time for it." Captain Brooke said while staring at the Vid Screen which was showing static.

"Run diagnostics," she called out.

"Doctor?" Rose asked.

He turned to Ed. "And the date, what's the date?"

"It's November 21st, 2059. You space sick or something?" he asked, backing away from the Doctor who had a haunted look on his face.

"We really shouldn't be here. I'm so old and daft!" he said, pounding on his head. It's 2059! You're Captain Adelaide Brooke! And Ed! You're Deputy Edward Gold. Tarak Ital, MD. Nurse Yuri Kerenski. Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich. Junior Technician Roman Groom. Geologist Mia Bennett. You're only 27 years old." he said, looking at Mia and shaking his head

"What's goin' on?" Rose asked, feeling more and more worried.

"Yeah, I'd like to know that!" Mia said.

A growling noise came over the comm system. Captain Brooke stared closer at the vid screen. "Show me what's happening out there!" she commanded. There was still nothing but static. She turned to the Doctor. "This all started when you two got here. We're locking you up until I know what the hell is going on."

Rose gripped the Doctor's hand. He looked intensely uncomfortable. "You shouldn't have come after me," he said to Rose. "It's brought us here on purpose to see what I'll do."

"What do you mean? Why shouldn't she have come and what brought you here? If you know something, you might as well tell me now. I'll find out eventually," Captain Brooke said as they walked down a corridor with them.

The Doctor sighed. "You see, Captain, uh, mind of I call you Adelaide?"

"Yes," she snipped off at him.

"Well, Adelaide certain moments in time are fixed. Everything else is in flux, anything can happen, but those certain moments, they have to stand. This base, on Mars, with you, Adelaide Brooke, this is one vital moment. What happens here must always happen…."

Donna walked out into the console room dressed in jeans and a black jumper, fresh from her shower. Jack was staring at screen on the time console tapping his fingers. Mickey and Martha were chatting animatedly while lounging on the jump seat. "What's going on? Where's the Doctor and Rose?" she asked.

"He went out for walk on Mars and Rose went after 'im," Mickey informed her and then yawned.

"He went out there?" Donna said, her voice raised. "And you just let Rose go alone after him?"

"Well they had on space suits," Mickey answered.

"Well that just makes it better now doesn't it," Donna said sarcastically, shaking her head.

"Take it easy, Donna. Rose thinks he left cause he needed some time to think. She followed him 'cos she was worried," Jack reasoned.

"Yeah, I mean how much trouble can they get into on a planet with no life," Martha said and then realized what she said and immediately started looking worried.

"Well there is that space port or base or whatever it is out there," Mickey pointed out.

"Exactly," Donna agreed. She walked up to Jack. "What are you looking at?"

Jack looked at her and smiled. He was about to say something suggestive when she crossed her arms and said, "Watch it!"

He sighed. "Sometimes you channel the Doctor, ya know. I was just trying to look up a little history. See if I can figure this out. See there's something familiar about this year and…." he stopped talking and zoned in on the screen. He backed up a bit. "No, he wouldn't," Jack whispered.

Mickey and Martha immediately jumped up and walked over. "What?" they said in unison and then smiled at each other.

"Mars, 2059, Bowie Base One. This is a pivotal point in Earth history." He walked over and opened the door looking out at the base. "That's the first human attempt at colonization of Mars and on November 1, 2059, that base explodes in a catastrophic nuclear explosion. Everyone dies. The destruction of this base, it didn't deter humanity, it inspired them. The descendants of the base commander, her granddaughter to be exact, piloted the first light speed ship to Proxima Centauri. The rest of her family followed and one of her descendants even fell in love with a Trandorian prince and created a new species. I wouldn't be here if this didn't happen," he said and looked troubled.

"You think he's gonna do something and change things," Mickey stated. Jack looked back at him as if to confirm Mickey's statement.

"Oh stop it all of you! It's the Doctor, he knows what he's doing. I once asked him to save people at Pompeii and he told me he couldn't 'cos it was s'pose to happen. He'll know that and won't muck it up."

"Yeah, but you heard him earlier. He's not exactly at his best right now," Jack pointed out.

"I dunno," Martha said pacing in between Jack and Donna. "Jack's right, something's off with the Doctor. He seems a bit intense. I think it started after we pulled Rose from the Void and now with this Darkness…."

"He's cracking up," Mickey inserted. "Not that he 'ad far to go."

"What are you sayin!" Donna demanded. "That he's gonna go in there and try and save everyone and change history?"

"All we're saying is he's a little unstable at the moment. Maybe seeing his people twisted by the Void and all this reminder of the Time War's shaken him up a bit." Jack said looking out toward the door. "At least Rose is with him. If anyone can help him work through this, it's Rose."

"Yeah, but what if she can't?" Mickey pointed out. They were all silent and looked at one another.

Donna walked up to the door and stared out at the base. She turned back to them. "It'll be all right. I know him. He won't do anything to hurt anyone." Donna said and then an explosion rocked the base.

Explosions rocked the base as Rose struggled to get the Doctor back into his space suit.

"They'll die Rose! All of them!" he said emotionally as he watched them frantically try to avoid the deadly water and save themselves. Rose tugged him toward the airlock. The door shut behind them. The air lock wouldn't pressurize and the exterior door wouldn't open.

Captain Brooke came online. "Tell me Doctor, what happens here?"

"You should be helping the others," he answered in an emotionless voice.

"I could up the pressure in there and kill you both. Now, tell me," she said.

The Doctor looked over at Rose whose eyes were tearing up. "You won't kill Rose and I, Adelaide. You could have shot Andy Stone, back there when the water infected him, but you didn't. I loved you for that. This Adelaide, this is something that will be hard for you. Maybe it's better if you don't know."

"Just tell me!" she shouted over the commlink.

The Doctor sighed. "Imagine Adelaide, just imagine you knew something about what would happen and it was something that…." He paused and paced around the airlock "Imagine you found yourself in Pompeii and it's volcano day."

"What the hell does that have to do with anything! Quit stalling and tell me the truth. What happens here?"

He swallowed hard. "It's volcano day, and you do something that makes it happen. Everyone dies," he said softly.

Shouting, frantic voices are heard over the comm. "Doctor!" Adelaide yells.

Rose steps forward and puts her gloved hand on his arm. "Tell her. She's smart and strong. She'll get it."

He nodded wishing he wasn't separated from Rose by the bulky orange space suit. "There are four more measures you have before you get to the final option. Tell me Adelaide, what is it?"

"Detonation," she answered, almost without emotion.

"Yeah. The final option. The nuclear device at the heart of the central dome. Today, on the 21st November 2059, Captain Brooke activates that device, taking the base and all her crew members with her. No one on Earth ever knows why. But we know you were saving Earth from invasion and annihilation. This, what happens here, it's what inspires your granddaughter. She takes your people out into the galaxy, because you die, on Mars. You die, today. She flies out there like she's trying to meet you."

"I won't die! I will not and I'll save as many as I can and warn the Earth about what's here," she said with conviction.

"Oh Adelaide, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry but history says you don't," the Doctor said with pity.

"And you, you said you're a Time Lord! Doesn't that mean anything? What, you can't do something to help us? You and Rose will just leave? You came just to watch us suffer and die? What exactly does that make you Doctor!" she accused.

"Adelaide, we can't," pleaded Rose. "Your death creates this brilliant future for the human race. This, all of this here ends but something better comes of it. It's not for nothin'. Us being here, it was all an accident, a terrible, terrible accident," Rose said, her voice cracking with anguish.

"And you'll die with us, won't you!" Adelaide shouts.

"No, we won't cause you won't let that happen. Just like you will do everything to save these people," Rose whispered while the Doctor paced back and forth in frustration.

"Damn you both," she said before beginning the sequence to depressurize the air lock.

The Doctor looked at Rose and something came over his face. "No," he said with conviction.

"Doctor, you know we can't. You said this is fixed. What I'm feeling says this is fixed. If there's one thing I learned from you it's that you don't muck about with this stuff. Reapers, I don't wanna see them again," Rose said pleading with him.

The Doctor stared at the door leading back into the base. "I've seen enough death. She's right, I'm a Time Lord. You think I can't do this? Once upon a time there were people in charge of these laws, but they died. They all died. Do you know who that leaves? Me! It's taken me all these years to realize the Laws of Time are mine and they will obey me!"

"What are you sayin'!" Rose said, tears streaming down her face in fear at the dark, mad look in his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. You've seen what I can do. How many times have I saved people! How many small ways I've changed things, saved some little people. But never someone as important as Adelaide Brooke! How much more worthy is she than some insignificant life!" he shouted.

Adelaide's outraged voice sounded over the comm system. "Little people? What, like my crew? Who decides they're so unimportant? You?"

"Maybe it is me. After everywhere I've been and all I've seen, who better! For a long time now, I thought I was just a survivor, but I'm not. I'm the winner. That's who I am. The Time Lord Victorious! And, I decide right here right now, that I want this particular point in time to change!" he shouted and headed toward the door leading back into the base.

"No! Doctor, you can't! I won't let you!" Rose shouted grabbing at him. He pushed her aside and she crashed into a wall and stared at him as if she didn't know him.

"This is wrong, Doctor. I don't care who you are. The Time Lord Victorious is wrong," Adelaide Brooke said. "Rose is right. If it's my time to die, our time to die then let it mean something. Good bye Doctor."

The outer door opened and Rose and the Doctor where blown out. Landing in a heap on the Martian surface. The door to the airlock closed with a whoosh.

A child's voice echoed around them. "Helpless was the Time Lord as it all came to pass. Soon he faded away as the new lords of universe arrived en masse."

"Stop it!" he shouted in a wild angry voice. "You don't control me! This isn't the end. I can still win this!" the Doctor shouted to the Martian landscape.

"Doctor!" Rose shouted, her voice sounding tinny in the helmet. "Stop it! This isn't you. This…this sounds like one them Void Lords!"

He dropped to his knees before Rose, as realization fell upon him, the shear enormity of what he was about to do.

"You're better than this," Rose insisted, seeing that he was starting to listen to her. "Think of all the people you have saved, the difference you've made. Don't be like them, those Void Lords, don't let the madness take you. We need you here now. I need you!" she said, crying.

"What have I done?" he whispered in horror, remembering how he had just shoved Rose aside. He looked back at the now shut airlock and then back at Rose. "What have I become? Rose, I…I'm so sorry. I let…"

"You're not like that. You're good, I see it inside of you. I believe in you."

"I almost crossed the line. I would have if…"

"No," Rose said emphatically, her voice laced with tears. "You didn't and you won't. An explosion shook the base. We have to go now. That base is gonna explode. We have to let them go, Doctor. If there ever were a reason to let someone die, this is it."

He stood up slowly and helped Rose up. They quickly made their way to the Tardis gloved hand in gloved hand entering just as the base exploded. Rose fell to her knees weeping. Jack ran over to help her take off her helmet and comfort her. The Doctor ripped off his helmet and tossed it aside heading straight to the console. "Cardiff! On to Cardiff!" he said in a loud enthusiastic voice that no one believed after seeing the worried expression on Rose's face. "Time to get you lot home!"

"Doctor?" Rose said softly, but he ignored her.

Cardiff's no problem. I can do that." He paused and looked down at the console, a haunted expression on his face. "I..I can do anything," he said so softly no one heard but Rose who walked up to him and took his hand. They stared into each other's eyes as the Tardis dematerialized. The silence in the Tardis was deafening.


	7. Chapter 7

**a/n:** This chapter is in keeping with a Teen rating. I am posting a more Adult version of it on Teaspoon at .?sid=44892 which should be up tonight or you can go to my LiveJournal page - I am Kelkat9 on LJ. This chapter still contains some intense material and deals with the aftermath of the events on Mars and Time Lord Victorious. This is still the Doctor recovering from his inner turmoil and trying to come to terms with his feelings for Rose. I just wanted to warn you in case dark, possessive Doctor bothers you.

Many thanks to a_who_in_whoville who is my beta extraordinaire and helped make this chapter much better than it was originally. The name Void Lords belongs to fannishliss who very kindly allowed me to borrow it for this story. As always, thanks to my Dalekian Sistahs and they know who they are!

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Doctor Who

The Tardis landed with a thump, and the Doctor continued to stare at the Time Rotor.

"Well, guess this is it," Jack announced. "I'll just take a peek and make sure we didn't land in Pompeii on Volcano day."

The Doctor inhaled sharply and Rose squeezed his hand. "Jack!" she shouted, glaring at him. Jack was already out the door. Rose looked back at the Doctor.

"Right well, I'm sure you all have plenty to do and I have some maintenance that can't wait." He turned to Martha. "Take care, Martha. And as for you," he said, pointing to Mickey. "Don't waste opportunities. You don't always get second chances," he said, looking at Martha and then glancing back at Rose who smiled at him.

"Gotcha Boss. Try and stay outta trouble," Mickey said and made his way to the door with Martha not far behind.

Martha paused at the door. "Doctor, if you ever need anything… call. All right?"

The Doctor's slight smile never reached his eyes and he nodded his head.

Rose looked at him. "I'll just be a moment. I want to say goodbye to Jack and everyone, okay?"

"Yeah, me too. Don't think you can take off without us, spaceman!" Donna said sternly.

He looked at Donna and then Rose. Rose leaned over and kissed his check. "Won't be a moment. Go on with your tinkerin'. We'll be right outside." Rose and Donna walked out as the Doctor rolled up his sleeves and began working on the Tardis.

Jack was in the Plass talking to Mickey and Martha when Donna and Rose walked up.

"So, guess is this is good bye for now," Rose said. They all turned at looked at her.

"I could ask wot happen' on the base but I know you won't tell me. Will ya?" Mickey asked, looking at Rose.

"Mick, I don't…. It's just everyone died and…." Rose started to say but didn't finish, looking off across the Plass like she was trying not to remember it.

Jack stepped forward. "It's all right, Rose. We looked it up history of the Bowie Base after you went after him. I think we can all figure out must have happened," Jack said with concern.

Martha was also concerned about leaving them. "It's just we're worried about you and the Doctor. He looked a bit haunted in there. Sort of lost. With him, you know it's bad when he's not talking," Martha said, stepping closer to Rose. "I meant what I said back there. If it get's too much, if he goes too far…"

Donna interrupted her. "No, he won't. Rose and I aren't going to let him. Look, you lot need to leave and that's fine, but Rose and I aren't leavin' him on his own. He needs someone around to knock 'im aside the head and remind him not to be a misery and that he has people who care."

Jack held up his hands defensively. "Look, I understand. I really do. I love him as much as you do. I'm just sayin' I'm worried about him and both of you. Just promise me if he starts going over the edge or does something crazy, you'll call me. I want to help, even if it's just to talk, okay?"

Rose smiled and walked up and hugged him. "Thanks Jack," she whispered in his ear and then pulled back.

"Anytime, anyplace and anyway!" he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Rose rolled her eyes. Jack looked up and saw the Doctor leaning against the door glaring at him. Deciding it would be best not to test the Time Lord's temper, he slowly let go of Rose.

Rose turned and saw the dark look in the Doctor's eyes. She turned back to everyone. "Right, well guess you better be off then. Take care and call us if you need anything. And Martha, try and keep these two lunks out of trouble, yeah," Rose said, smiling warmly at Martha before turning and walking back to the Tardis with Donna.

The Doctor closed the door with a decisive click once they were on board. "So alien boy, where you takin' us to make up for Swamp World?" Donna asked immediately, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

He smiled a bit and sniffed. "Suppose I could arrange a holiday," he said casually, flipping a few switches on the console. Maybe Flibbit. We can visit Prince Philias," he said, beginning to show a bit more enthusiasm.

"No swamps!" Donna said decisively.

Rose giggled a bit and walked up to stand next to the Doctor. "How 'bout Barcelona? You never did take me to see the noseless dogs," she suggested.

"Noseless dogs?" Donna asked.

"Oh yes!" the Doctor answered.

Turning to Rose they both said in unison "They smell terrible!" and then burst out into giggles.

Donna shook her head and sighed.

"Barcelona it is!" he shouted and the Tardis took off. It was an extremely bumpy ride and a piece of the console popped off and bounced around when they landed. "I really do have some maintenance that can't wait. Why don't you two go shopping and I'll catch up later. I know the best little café! Serves the most brilliant Barcelonian Stew with these little crispy things on top. You'll both love it!"

Donna walked up to him and held out her hand expectantly. The Doctor rolled his eyes, reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag which he plopped into her waiting hand.

"Thanks! Don't forget you're takin' us to dinner," Donna reminded him, as she grabbed her coat and headed for the door.

Rose walked up to him. "You gonna be okay?" she asked.

"You know me. I'm always all right," he said as he began taking some readings off of various instruments.

"Doctor," Rose said to get his attention. He turned to her and she gripped his tie and pulled him down for a quick snog. "We'll see you in a bit, yeah?"

"Yeah," he said softly, practically devouring her with his eyes.

She smiled brightly and turned to the time rotor "Take care of 'im girl," she said and caressed the console.

The Doctor watched her intensely as she followed Donna out the door. After she had left, he exhaled and looked up at the ceiling of the Tardis. "I don't know how much longer I can hold on but then you know that don't you," he said to the Tardis.

He began working and talking to his ship. "Had to go mucking about with her DNA didn't you. You saved her all right. She's gorgeous in oh so many ways and she doesn't even know it." He paused and glared at the time rotor. "Just being around her isn't enough anymore. Don't pretend like you don't know what will happen," he admonished his ship.

He knelt down and began working on removing a panel when a pain shot through his head. He closed his eyes, rested his head against the console and clenched his fist around the sonic screwdriver. He sat back. "That wasn't Rose. That was something else," he murmured. He finished his repair, attached the loose knob to the console and stood up.

A few feet from him, sitting on the jump sweat swinging her legs, holding her wicker basket in her lap, was good red riding hood. "The game has only begun. The Black King prepares for battle. The White King must protect his Queen from the Black Knight."

He stared at her for a moment and the Tardis shifted causing him to stumble. When he looked back, she was gone. He ran to put his coat on and looked back at the console. "Whatever is controlling the Darkness wants to take Rose and use her to remake the universe. I can see that now and I will stop it." He turned and stormed out the door. The Tardis seemed to hum as if she knew that things were on the right path.

Rose and Donna had been enjoying themselves shopping in the market. They city of Lunestia was built into a hill by an ocean and reminded Rose and Donna of villages in the Mediterranean. Rectangular pale pink stone houses dotted the green landscape with zig zags of stairs leading from the street to the various levels of homes. The streets themselves were made of a mauve cobblestone. Many of the streets were shaded with tall evergreen-like trees and were connected together at squares which were filled with shops, restaurants and parks. The Barcelonians looked similar to humans only they were tanned a deep golden color with amber to deep brown eyes and many of them had dark russet to black hair. The majority of people seemed to be walking with dogs which wore the most unique and fashionable collars and leashes Rose and Donna had ever seen. Some sparkled with gems, others were themed or in vibrant colors made of many types of materials such as leather or ribbon.

It was very relaxing as they strolled and stopped in some shops, buying a few items here or there. They stopped for a special frozen smoothie that was made from a Barcelonian fruit that was like a mixture of an orange and mango. They took a break in one of the parks to enjoy their smoothie and escape the hot sun.

"It's nice to be somewhere peaceful for a change," Rose said, closing her eyes and enjoying the quiet of the park.

"I know what you mean. Bet spaceman hates this. With him it's all about runnin' about, causin' trouble or stoppin' trouble. Maybe savin' a planet or two in between."

Rose laughed. "And stopping off for bananas along the way!"

Donna turned and looked at her. "Oh he is in so much trouble now!" she said and clinked her smoothie to Rose's.

While they were chatting and comparing Doctor notes, the dogs in the park all started barking and howling. Rose and Donna looked around and noticed all the owners trying to sooth their pets. Storm clouds seem to appear from nowhere and the wind picked up. Rose shivered and she winced as a pain shot through her head.

"You all right? Brain freeze?" Donna asked.

"No, I don't think so," Rose told her when she could open her eyes. Shadows deepened and danced across the park making Rose uncomfortable. The images brought back memories from the Void. "Donna, can we…" she started to say and stood up wanting out of this place.

"Yeah, sure. Let's get back to the Tardis before we get drenched. I had enough of that in the swamp."

As they walked away, Rose caught a glimpse of evil red riding hood smirking at them from the shadows. "No," she whispered, right before the ground began shaking.

"What was that?" Donna asked. Seconds later, all hell broke loose as the streets cracked, buildings began collapsing around them and dust filled the air. People were screaming and running around in terror. Donna and Rose clung together and tried to make their way back to the Tardis when they found a child who looked only to be about fiver or six weeping in the middle of the shaking street.

Rose stopped and knelt down and embraced the terrified child. "Hey now, it'll be all right. I've got you. What's your name?"

"Liam," he mumbled while crying on Rose's shoulder.

"Liam, where are your parents?" she asked as she tried to calm the child. The ground was still shaking but the worst of it seemed over. The boy looked at her with terrified chocolate brown eyes pooled with tears and pointed to a semi collapsed building. "Mama and my sister," he finally said.

"Your Mum and sister are in there?" Donna asked.

He nodded and Rose hugged him. She looked up at Donna who nodded her head in agreement at the unsaid thought that they would help this child. They walked over toward the crumbled building, jumping over huge cracks in the road and avoiding fallen debris. When they were closer to the building, they couldn't see any way in. A handsome, athletic looking man ran over. He reminded Donna of an auburn haired Daniel Craig and she was immediately smitten.

"You need some help over here?" he asked and nodded toward the fallen building.

"Yes, thanks. Liam's family is in there. Can you help us?" Donna asked, smiling at him flirtatiously.

He looked at the front of the building and found a window that was partially crushed but was passable. "I think we can get in through here," he said and turned to Rose holding out his hand. "My name's Tarin by the way."

"I'm Rose and this is Donna," Rose responded, smiling gratefully at him.

He looked at Donna and winked at her which just about caused her to melt on the spot. He turned back to Rose. "Right, think you can give me a hand Rose?"

"Yeah sure," she said nodding. She knelt down next to Liam. "Liam, can you wait here with Donna while I see if I can find your family?" The little boy sniffled and walked over to hold Donna's hand.

Donna looked at Rose. "Be careful. The Doctor'll have a fit if anything happens to you."

Rose nodded and with Tarin's help crawled in the window. The interior was a cramped, dark, dusty space. Rose looked at the opening and tried to clear some debris away to form a path in and out. She called out and listened. She turned back to Tarin. "I think I hear someone. I'm going in further."

Tarin soon squeezed through the window. "I'm going to try and shore up the opening. I'll be right behind you," he said, taking some wood and stabilizing the opening.

Rose ducked under fallen beams, coughing at the dust that filled the air. Eventually, she heard crying and found an unconscious woman and a small toddler sitting next to her. She knelt down and smiled at the girl. "Hello there, I'm Rose. Liam sent me to check on you and your Mum. Are you hurt?" Rose asked the shaking and hysterical girl who said something garbled but Rose could not understand her through her tears. Rose leaned over and could feel a pulse on her mother.

Tarin knelt beside her. "Why don't you take the girl and I'll check out her Mum and see if she can be moved. I have medical training."

Rose smiled her thanks and scooped up the girl and carried her toward the opening. She called to Donna who took the child and Rose went back in to check on her mother.

Tarin turned to her. "She's got a nasty contusion on her head a broken arm and some cracked ribs. She's starting to come round though," he said and smiled up at Rose. As he used some debris to form a splint, he began chatting up Rose. "Picked a helluva time to come for visit to our fine city haven't ya?"

"Yeah, I blame our designated driver. He always seems to pick the most tumultuous times to visit a place," she answered, as she tried to clean the unconscious woman of dust and debris.

"So, you separated from your friend then? I'll see what I can do when we get out of here. Like I said, I'm a medic and will be working at the emergency center near here," Tarin explained.

"Thanks, but I'm sure you have your hands full and Donna and I can make our way back to our transport," Rose told him.

He nodded but didn't look convinced. The woman started moaning and regaining consciousness crying out and asking for her children. Rose took her hand. "It's all right. Your kids are safe outside. Try and stay calm and we'll get you out of here," she told her soothingly.

"You have a real way with people you know," Tarin said approvingly.

"Thanks. I used to work in sort of an emergency management organization. Had to calm down a few people in my time," Rose explained and helped the woman up. They propped her up between them and carefully and slowly helped her to the window. A few more people showed up and helped her out. Just as she was free, the ground began shaking and the roof started to collapse.

Donna called out, "Rose!"

Tarin grabbed Rose and held her against him and dragged her toward a supporting wall. He covered her with his body to protect her from falling debris.

The Doctor raced through the wrecked city trying to zone in on Donna and Rose with his sonic. Although, he had to admit, he really no longer needed any technological assistance to find Rose. Her biology was so unique and her psychic signature was strong. She was a song in his mind that he couldn't ignore. He soon found Donna standing outside a wrecked building taking care of a couple of children.

"Donna!" he shouted and ran up to her.

"Doctor, it's 'bout time you got here!" she shouted back at him.

"Are you all right? Where's Rose?" the Doctor asked, panic beginning to lace his voice.

"Oh I'm fine if you don't count the fact you brought us to Barcelona during a major catastrophe! Blimey, it's like you can't stay away from the worst time to visit a planet."

"Donna, where's Rose?" he asked again, a bit more desperate.

"She went in the building to help Tarin rescue little Liam's mother. See," Donna said pointing to a group of people who were helping a woman out of the building.

"Tarin?" the Doctor asked.

"Oh yeah," Donna said a bit dreamily. "Looks like Daniel Craig, all manly and just…"

As she was describing how wonderful Tarin was, the Doctor was getting more and more upset that Rose was in a disintegrating building with yet another pretty boy. Then, of course, another earthquake struck. Donna yelped and the Doctor grabbed her and the children to pull them away from the building.

When the shaking stopped, the building had further collapsed. The children ran to their mother who was being seen to by the group who had pulled her out. One of the men in the group walked up to the building and the Doctor ran up to him.

"There are people in there! We have to get them out!" the Doctor shouted.

The man turned to him. "Things are still shifting. We'll have to wait for it to stabilize again."

The Doctor turned away from him abruptly and walked toward the window which was now blocked. "No," he said with little emotion and began shifting things and shoring up the opening as he worked. He worked tirelessly and busted his way in where he found Rose beneath Tarin who was chatting and smiling at her.

"Rose!" he shouted, unhappy at the compromising position she was in with Tarin.

"Doctor! Oh thank gawd! Did they get her out all right? Is it safe to leave now?" Rose asked as she and Tarin sat up.

The Doctor stared blackly at Tarin and then turned to Rose. "Yes, time to go. Now," he said tersely, holding out his hand. Tarin helped Rose up and they walked toward the window. The Doctor grabbed her hand and helped her out followed by Tarin.

The crowd outside cheered and Tarin waved to them. He turned to Rose. "Thanks for your help in there. I couldn't have gotten her out without you, Rose."

"Thank you, Tarin. I'd hate to think what would have happened to them if you hadn't shown up," Rose said smiling at him.

Donna walked up. "Yeah, thanks." Before she could say anything else, the Doctor ordered them abruptly, "Come on," and dragged Rose away.

Donna said "bye" as she ran to catch up with a very annoyed Doctor who continued marching through the city with a firm grip on Rose not listening to her as she tried to get his attention.

Once they were in the Tardis, he let go of her hand and immediately put them into the Vortex.

"What was that about!" Donna shouted at him. "Didn't even let me say goodbye to Tarin."

He hit a switch violently and glared at Rose. "It was time to leave," he said tightly.

"You don't say," Rose said in an annoyed voice. "Gee, I could hardly tell the way you was draggin' us through the city like there was a hoard of Daleks after us."

"And I suppose Tarin would've taken you on a tour of the destruction as he charmed you with his Barcelonian dance moves," the Doctor snarked darkly at her.

"Oi!" Donna said. "That's enough. He was tryin' to help that family and if you hadn't been on such a bloomin' jealous rage, you would've noticed that!"

"Don't you ever drag me around like that again!" Rose said, still clearly furious with him.

"Or you'll what?" he snipped.

Rose tensed up and gritted her teeth. Her first instinct would have been to respond with the Jackie Tyler method for putting arrogant Time Lords in their place. "I've had enough of this. Donna, you deal with him," Rose finally said and stormed off before she lost control and gave him the slap he deserved.

Something within the Doctor snapped. Rose, a human hybrid, the result of Time Lord manipulation of human DNA, a creation who his people had intended to serve Time Lords had walked away from him. Him! After everything they'd been through and what they meant to each other he would not allow his magnificent Rose, the last bit of his home to simply walk away. She was meant to be here with him not off flirting with some pretty inferior alien who wasn't good enough to breath the same air as her. This was the moment that broke his very disciplined Time Lord control. He'd had enough and it was time to inform his pink and yellow girl exactly how things were and with that thought raging through his mind, the Doctor went after her. He reached her and grabbed her arm.

"Don't touch me!" she said, her voice laced with fury.

His eyes darkened to the utter black of the Oncoming Storm and he scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder and thundered down the corridor, his eyes dark, possessive and filled with Time Lord power. She squirmed and demanded to be set down beating on his back until finally he dropped her violently to the grating, glaring at her. She backed up, her eyes blazing with anger and rage at his treatment.

"What you think you're doin!" she shouted.

"What am I doing?" he said tightly as he loomed over her, pushing her backwards against the wall. "Protecting what is mine," he enunciated each word, his voice practically vibrating with anger.

"What's yours!" she shouted, clenching her fists. "Really, cause last time I checked, I'm still my own person not some possession of a Time Lord who thinks he controls the universe!"

If it were possible, he became even more enraged and slammed his hands on either side of her, trapping her between himself and the wall. "_You are mine_! You've been mine for a long time and don't pretend you don't know that. You even swallowed time for me, just me. I gave up a regeneration for you. You! You even promised me your forever. So don't pretend you don't know what we are together…that this thing between us is nothing. Oh no, this has gone too far for that now. You're not even entirely human any more." He paused trying to calm down taking a breath but still feeling a fire inside of himself burning for her. He inhaled deeply. "You smell of time and home," he growled and opened his eyes boring them into hers. "No Rose Tyler, there will be no one else."

"Prove it then Time Lord. Why should I stay here? What am I to you? Just some science experiment, a new toy, something you've never seen before? Or, am I more? You want a companion? Or someone who can give you what you really need," she said cockily.

He leaned in so that his face was millimeters from hers. "You can't handle what I need."

"Try me," she said, her lips barely brushing his as she stared hotly into his eyes, challenging him. He slammed her against the wall as he kissed her passionately. It was rough and needy like he wanted to devour her. His arms encircled her crushing her to him, wanting to wrap her around him. She clung to him kissing him back just as passionately, her hands clawing at his back trying to dig their way through his coat. His hands moved lower and grabbed one of her legs, hitching it up around his waist as the evidence of his need and desire to possess her completely became evident. He pulled back, letting her gasp for breath and pushed her against the wall once again, pressing up against her.

"I need more," he groaned, staring feverishly at her.

She looked at him and groaned back "So do I. Don't want to be alone anymore."

He pulled her to him into a gentle but passionate snog and guided them to a door which swung open. He pushed her back into the room and snapped his fingers. The door shut with a click. `

0

Donna, who had been standing further back in the corridor smiled. "It's about bloody time," she murmured as she walked away.

The room which he had pushed her into was dark. An earthy fresh scent filled the air like a damp forest early in the morning as the first light of the sun spread its rays on the glistening dew covered grass. The ceiling and walls faded until it looked like they were in a wide open space, the stars sparkling in a crystal clear sky with a giant moon emerging from the horizon. He gently pushed her backward and she fell into a mass of pillows that blended into the grassy meadow. She could hear strange insect sounds and a bird called out, his lonely song echoing. A gentle breeze billowed the Doctor's coat which he quickly removed and tossed so it landed on a tree branch of what Rose would identify as a weeping willow.

He stared at her. The moon bathed him in its light emphasizing a shadowed and moody expression. He stood tall, tense almost aristocratic looking at her possessively.

She felt a bit of her anger bubbling up. "You don't own me Time Lord so stop it. You haven't earned the right to look at me like that."

"Earned the right!" he said with a harsh laugh. "I think I have. Don't you lie there and try and be indignant with me. You want this as much as I do. You've been flirting and flaunting in front of me since I pulled you out of the Void! Just like you always have."

"I've been flirting and flaunting? Don't even start that Mr. 'snogs everyone and then comes up with an excuse to why he did and how it means nothing'," Rose scoffed and rolled her eyes.

His eyes blazed and he began pacing in the soft grass. He whipped around and looked at her. "What do you want from me!" he shouted.

She sat up. "I want the truth! I want you to tell me why you've been acting this way! What's happening between us. I still feel what we've always had but it's buried or twisted up in this tension. I know what I feel but you…."

He began tugging at his hair in frustration and then dropped his arms to his side and exhaled. "What I feel. I feel a burning need to have you with me. No. More than just with me. I need to know that you still want to be with this old damaged Time Lord. I see you with others who…." He stopped and growled in frustration pacing some more, stopping abruptly and looking down at her. "You are so young and untarnished. You don't understand who I am and what I've done and despite all that, I still can't let you go."

"So stop trying! Oh, and give me a little credit would ya? I might have seen a few things, horrible things and I know you've seen worse. The only thing in this universe I'm sure of is you and that you stand between the darkness and the light. And…I love you," she whispered emotionally.

Her soft heartfelt confession stopped him dead. He sank down to his knees beside her almost in defeat letting go of his anger. He tossed his suit coat aside and loosened his tie. "This thing between us can't go on unresolved. If we do this, it changes everything," he said emotionally.

"I know," she said softly, her hand reaching up to caress his face. He closed his eyes at her touch.

"There's never been anyone like you. You, all of you, calls out to me on a level that I can't explain. There are no words. I need to feel all of you not just this physical form. I just don't know how much control I'll have," he said, holding her hand to his face and looking at her through hooded dark eyes.

"I want this. I want you, all of you too. I think…I think I understand now. Us, we need this. When I was in the Void, I…"

"Don't. You don't have to. I know what happened there frightens you. I feel your nightmares and…it kills me to know that I played a part in it."

"No you didn't," she tried to say, but he put his fingers over her lips.

"Yes, I did. I should have known, should have seen who and what you were and would become. You need to know that I allowed my emotions to cloud my judgment instead of paying attention to timelines and potentials. I was selfish. I needed you. I was alone and I needed you," he said, his voice cracking.

"I don't blame you. This thing that happened to me was something that was always gonna happen. I'm sure of that. I think maybe the Tardis showed me," she said, looking up at the luminous moon hanging low in the alien sky. She turned back to him. "I'm just so glad it happened with you, my Doctor."

He looked at her and saw the all encompassing love and need in her eyes and was overwhelmed. "Rose," he whispered and leaned in to kiss her. The minute their lips touched, both of them became consumed by the burning passion ignited in the corridor. There was just the two of them in the middle of a maelstrom of time and matter. It was a storm like no other and the power of it built until they exploded into each other at last feeling ultimately connected. They both sank into a peaceful slumber oblivious to the haunting voice that whispered, _"And the wolf howled joining with the heart of the storm bringing balance. The time lines flared at the new possibilities, and the Darkness along with its masters shuddered in fear…."_


	8. Chapter 8

a/n: Bows down before who_in_whoville who is most patient and fixes all my grammar failure. Thanks to my Dalekian Sistahs who help build my confidence up enough to write something like this. The phrase Void Lords comes from fannishliss who came up with that after reading Finding The way. She very kindly allowed me to steal it for this fic. Thank you to everyone has favorited, left reviews and subscribed to this story. It really does mean alot to me and I appreciate you taking time to read this story. A couple more chapters left after this one. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who

The Doctor practically bounced down the corridor on his way to the console room. As he entered, he saw Donna sitting on the jump seat reading a magazine. She dropped it into her lap and gave him a hard look. "It's about time! Thought you'd never come up for air!"

The Doctor grinned a cocky, self satisfied smile. "Oh come on Donna, hasn't been that long. It's only been three hours, eleven minutes and thirty point three seconds!" he said with a lightness in his voice that had been missing of late. He walked over to the console and began setting some coordinates. "Seems like I owe you a dinner!" he said exuberantly. Donna did not respond. He turned only to find her staring at the door.

"Donna?" he asked, wondering what she was doing.

"Don't you hear it?" she responded.

"Hear what?" the Doctor asked.

"It's him," she said, almost tonelessly.

And then he did hear it. Hysterical laughing reverberating in his Tardis. It was a male and he sounded insane. "What!" he shouted. "That's impossible! No one transmits anything into my Tardis unless I lower the shields!" He looked at the console and tapped it. "My shields are up!" He listened to it and thought there was something familiar about the laughter, the tone of voice…

"He's coming," Donna whispered, now standing closer to the door.

The Doctor turned to her. "Donna, do you know who this is?"

The laughter boomed louder. The Doctor pulled out his sonic as something tugged at his memory. He knew this laughter. He'd heard it before. He saw Donna put her hand on the door. "Donna, don't!" he shouted, but it was too late.

Donna stood staring into the vortex through the open door, almost entranced by whatever she saw. "No! Donna get away from there!" he shouted, trying to run over to her but somehow finding it difficult to get near her. Evil red riding hood appeared in the door and walked in taking Donna's hand.

The Doctor pointed his sonic at the evil child. "Get away from her!" he shouted in anger.

The evil child smirked at him. "You may have won this round Time Lord, but the game is still ongoing and there are many players."

The Doctor felt something behind him and turned around to see an Ood standing a few feet away. "Will your song end or it will become part of a new melody?" it asked him.

He turned back to Donna only to watch in horror as the Darkness consumed her and she screamed for him to help her. "Nooooo!" he cried out and found himself back in the meadow room with Rose who was screaming and trembling with him.

They clung to each other as the dream began to fade. "Doctor, did you…. I mean did you just have a..."

"Nightmare," he finished for her.

"Yeah. It was horrible. There was this bloke, this insane bloke and he was laughing like he was completely bonkers. Something about it just…it terrified me," Rose told him, shivering uncontrollably.

"What did he look like, this laughing bloke?" the Doctor asked softly, but with a shaky voice.

"He was blonde with cold blue eyes and then there was Donna and she…" Rose's voice hitched and she threw herself into the Doctor's arms weeping.

He gathered her close and held her shutting his own eyes against the vision of Donna being devoured by the Darkness. "I won't let that happen. We, us, we're going to stop it," he said with conviction.

Rose pulled away and looked into his eyes and nodded her head.

"Did you see an Ood by any chance?" he said slowly.

"An Ood? No, why?"

"Just wondering," he whispered, now knowing that was a personal message for him. He jumped up an began reaching for his clothing.

"Doctor, that was just a dream right?" Rose asked nervously.

He paused and looked down at her. "We both just had the same dream. I mean after what we just did, joining our minds in telepathic union, it is possible to have a joint dream but, I don't think so. This is something else."

Rose smiled at him. "Telepathic union? Is that what Time Lords call it?" she said with a cheeky grin trying to bring some levity to a frightening moment.

He grinned cockily at her, seemingly pleased with himself. "Wellll, I am a bit brilliant at everything and it wouldn't surprise me if we have a few shared dreams, but when you and I have a shared dream after a night of incredible intimacy, I promise you Rose Tyler, it won't be about evil little red hooded girls, the Darkness and some insane laughter."

"Yeah?" Rose asked as she dressed.

"Yep!" he said, popping his "p".

Feeling more in tune than they had ever been, they finished dressing and ran hand in hand down the corridor toward the console room. They came to an abrupt halt when they saw Donna sitting on the jump seat reading a magazine. When she put it down to look at them, they both raced over to her and hugged her in between them.

"Oi! Stop that! Whadda ya think you're doin'? Is this some kind of weird Time Lord sex thing?" she asked, pushing them away.

"What!" the Doctor exclaimed, a look of disgust on his face. Rose burst out into giggles. "No! Donna that's just…wrong and I don't even want to know how you thought of that," he said, backing away.

"Oh please. You two storm off spittin' nails at each other and end up practically shaggin' in the corridor, then disappear for hours on end and come back all lovey-dovey and barely dressed! Suddenly, I'm bein' smothered by you! What am I s'pose to think!" she said, arms crossed but fighting a smile.

"Not that!" he said, a look of disgust on his face. He then looked at his clothes. "What do you mean barely dressed!"

"Buttons! You have 'em for a reason," Donna said simply.

The Doctor looked down at his shirt and Rose walked over, looked at him and started giggling again. "Sorry, Donna. Uh we may have lost a button or two."

"No we didn't!" the Doctor exclaimed, ignoring the fact that his shirt was buttoned out of order and two buttons were missing. He turned toward the console, reached into his pocket and soniced a button on and straightened his shirt. He looked over his shoulder, glaring at Donna, sniffed and began setting coordinates.

"So Donna, don't s'pose you've been having nightmares lately?" Rose asked as she wandered around the console watching the Doctor.

"Yeah, I did. Why? How'd you know?"

The Doctor stopped what he was doing, put on his brainy specs and looked at Donna. "What kind of nightmares?"

"Just of this crazy bloke who sort of reminds me of that psycho Saxon fellow. You know, the one that killed the American President. Weird isn't it. Must have eaten something off."

The Doctor paled and tensed. "Did you say Saxon?" he whispered.

"Yeah, why? What's wrong?" Donna asked concerned.

"We need to get to Earth now!" he shouted and began slamming controls and racing around the console. Rose looked nervously at Donna and then back to the Doctor.

"Doctor, what is it? What's happening? Who is this Saxon?" Rose asked.

"I'll explain later!" he said as the Tardis jerked and bumped and threw them to and fro until they landed in London. The Doctor didn't even stop to see if they were uninjured. He burst out the Tardis to find out it was a peaceful sunny day on Earth. Donna and Rose walked out cautiously and looked at him. He was turning around in a circle, looking wildly about. They were in a park and people were walking with children or walking their dogs and everything seemed normal.

Donna walked up to a couple having a picnic and asked to borrow their newspaper. She looked at the date and walked back to Rose who was now standing next to the Doctor trying to calm him down.

"It's 2009, fifth of November. Doctor, does somethin' happen today?" Donna asked.

He started pacing back and forth looking up at the blue sky with fluffy white clouds floating by peacefully. He turned back to Donna and grabbed the newspaper out of her hand.

"Oi! Rude," she chastised him.

"Nothing. There's nothing," he said and tossed the paper aside and began pacing again. He stopped abruptly and looked at Rose. "Do you feel anything off?"

Rose looked at him and then concentrated. Eventually she shook her head. "No, everything feels fine." He started tugging at his hair. "Doctor, tell us about this Saxon bloke," Rose asked.

He stopped and scrubbed his hands on his face. He looked at Donna. "Donna, what do you remember about Harold Saxon?"

"Not much, he was elected when I was on holiday in Greece. Not long into his term he called some type of news conference and went mad murdering the American President."

"That's it?" the Doctor asked amazed, at how Donna seemed able to miss all the monumental events that occurred in her own country.

"It's politics. It's nothing but a bunch of rich, pompous, snobs. I was more interested in gettin' married. Well, that is until my fiancé tried to feed me to a giant spider and then I had to find a new job since my old job got sucked into the Thames 'cos of a certain alien. Then, I had to spend my time tracking you down. I didn't have time to worry about some psycho politician."

"Doctor, what's a murderin' politician have to do with this nightmare?" Rose asked, trying to redirect to the conversation back to the present problem.

The Doctor swallowed hard and walked over to an empty bench where he collapsed looking defeated. Rose and Donna followed and sat down on either side of him. "Harold Saxon was another Time Lord that survived the Time War."

"What!" Rose gasped and immediately grasped his hand.

"He was insane. He wanted to take over the entire universe and he succeeded with Earth. Of course, most of the population don't remember."

"What do you mean?" Donna asked. "I think I'd remember some bonkers Time Lord takin' over the world."

The Doctor looked down at the grass and toed his trainers into it a bit. "No, you wouldn't. You see the Master, that's his name by the way, created a paradox machine using my Tardis. Took over the Earth using these monstrous tormented humans from the future which he turned into an army he called the Toclafane. Long story short, he enslaved the world and captured me and Jack. Martha Jones was the only one who could stop him and she did but at a cost. You see, he had her family. It was…" he told them, not finishing and looking across the park at a family having a picnic.

"The Master, blimey you lot have pompous names!" Donna commented trying to snap him out of his memory.

He looked over at her with a half hearted smile.

"So, he enslaved the Earth and Martha stopped him, yeah," Rose asked, gently encouraging him to continue.

"Yes, wellll it was complicated but the point is, he was stopped and the paradox machine reversed everything back to normal so the people who died were alive and no one remembered except for those of us that were at the heart of the paradox storm. Me, Jack, Martha, her family, Lucy Saxon and a few military. All of us, we remembered everything and in the end, that's what killed him."

"What do you mean?" Donna asked, worried at the alternating hard and distraught expression on his face.

"Lucy Saxon. She shot him in front of all of us. He refused to regenerate. He died in my arms. The only other Time Lord in existence and he died and I couldn't do anything," he said with a broken voice. Rose pulled him into her arms and he clung to her for a moment before sitting back and pulling himself together.

Donna reached over for his other hand. "So if he's dead, how can he be in our dreams?" she asked.

"Is there any chance he regenerated after you left?" Rose asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, I burned his body and followed the rites of my people. He was gone."

"Well, something must have happened cause he's havin' a jolly old time in our dreams. So what do we do next?" Donna asked.

The Doctor stood up and paced before them. "Nothing. There's nothing we can do until find out more about what's going on. Could be just coincidence."

"Coincidence? I don't think so. The three of us all dreamed about this psycho!" Donna almost shouted.

Rose looked at Donna and back at the Doctor. "Donna's right. Somethin's goin' on. We have to find out if this is happening to anyone else. Maybe we should ring Martha?"

"I'll do it!" Donna said, standing up. "Look, you two still have things to work out and don't deny it Doctor. I'm not daft. Besides, you need to get it out of your system. I don't want to be walkin' in on you two shaggin' against the console or something. So go on. Go get it out of your system, both of you! I'll ring Martha and Jack for a chat and while I'm out and I'll pick up some supplies. We're almost out of cream and no we're not goin' to Helicki IV for some weird yellow alien cream you like. I want Earth cream and Jammy Dodgers. You ate all of them. Now hand it over," Donna said and held out her palm, tapping her foot.

The Doctor stared at her. "One, you will never walk in on Rose and me shagging on the console. It's disrespectful and would offend the Tardis. B, there is no cream on Helicki IV. Well, I say there's no cream but really they use a powdered emulsification made from ground up pollen and three, why do I always have to fund these little shopping expeditions?"

"Cause, it's your ship and your galley and if I didn't go, there'd never be any tea, Jammy Dodgers or Jaffa cakes now hand it over," Donna said and stared at him.

He fidgeted and huffed and finally reached into his pocket and handed her some notes.

She held them up to make sure they were Earth money and said "Thanks." She turned to Rose. "I'll call you after I talk to Jack and Martha. Now go sort him out." Donna turned and marched away.

The Doctor looked at Rose. "Have we just been dismissed?"

Rose walked up to him smiling "I think we have," Rose said, watching Donna walk away. She turned and tugged the Doctor back to the Tardis. Before they walked in the Doctor stopped suddenly and turned around. Rose turned with him to see what caught his attention. She gasped when she saw the Ood standing across the park staring at them.

"Doctor, why's there an Ood over there?" Rose asked.

"We've been summoned," the Doctor answered. He nodded his head at the Ood and pulled Rose inside the Tardis.

Donna rang Martha who arranged a time and place to meet. On her way to meet Martha, Mickey and Jack at the designated restaurant, Donna rang up her mum and granddad to catch up with them and let them know she was in town. Although this trip was due to a possible crisis, Donna was looking forward to meeting up with everyone and finding out what they all had been doing.

"Donna! So good to see you," Martha said jumping up and hugging her when Donna walked into the restaurant. "It's been months for us and we've been worried."

"Thanks Martha, but you know life on the Tardis. It's only been a few days for me."

"And how've been those few days?" Mickey asked. "Is Rose doin' all right?"

Donna suddenly smirked. "Oh I'd say she's doin' better than all right. As a matter of fact, so is the Doctor," she confided and sat down and ordered a drink from the waitress.

Jack grinned. "Oh they are, area they? That sounds promising. Do tell."

"Oi, it's not my place to gossip," Donna retorted and winked at him.

"Oh come on Donna! We've been watching those two dance around each other forever! Spill! Did Rose tame the Oncoming Storm?" Jack asked with a cheeky grin.

"Jack!" Martha chastised and then turned to Donna. "Well did she?"

"You are all disgustin'!" Mickey commented, shaking his head. "The real question is did he lose it again? I mean, do we need to worry about a mad Time Lord runnin' around the universe?"

After Mickey's comment Donna's face fell a bit. The waitress set her drink down and she gulped and motioned for another.

"Donna?" Jack asked concerned.

"The Doctor mentioned something about a bonkers Time Lord. It's partly why I'm here. Don't s'pose any of you have been havin' nightmares about a certain psycho ex-prime minister?" Donna asked. At Donna's comment the waitress dropped her drink and stared at Donna.

She whispered, "How did you know?" before apologizing, cleaning up the mess and leaving to fetch another drink.

Everyone at the table was quiet for a while until Martha spoke. "You're talking about the Master," she said softly.

Jack looked at Martha. "You're having nightmares of that bastard. Laughing like the psycho he was."

Martha looked at Jack with haunted eyes. "You too?" she asked.

Jack grimaced and took a swig of his beer.

"You're talking about that blonde, scruffy guy laughin' aren't you?" Mickey asked.

Jack and Martha turned and stared at him.

"It's all of us. We're all having the same dream," Donna said. "And not just us. The waitress too. What if everyone's havin' the same dream?"

"You said this is some sor' of crazy Time Lord. Thought the Doctor was the last?" Mickey said.

The waitress came back and set Donna's drink down and practically ran away from the table. They all stared at her hasty exit.

Jack turned back to Mickey. "He is. The Master died and the Doctor burned his body."

"Yeah, but didn't he regenerate?" Mickey asked.

"No, he refused, to spite the Doctor. Died in his arms," Martha said.

"Yeah, the Doctor told me and Rose about it." (Donna?)

"He talked to you about that?" Jack asked surprised.

"Well, we may have pestered him a bit. He seemed a bit spooked about the whole thing. I mean if this Master died, how come everyone's dreaming about him?"

"Could be some sort of telepathic warning," Jack mused.

"Maybe something left over from Archangel satellites?" Martha asked.

"Can't be. I disabled them," Jack responded.

"Did the Doctor say anything else?" Mickey asked.

"No, just when he realized we were all havin' the same dream, he wanted to get back to Earth as fast as possible. We need to tell 'im everyone's havin' these dreams."

"We need to confirm how far this has spread," Jack said.

Mickey nodded. "I should run a sweep of the web. See if anyone's talkin' about it."

"I should coordinate with UNIT," Martha agreed.

"We should pool our resources and meet up later to call the Doctor. So what's he doing while you're here with us?" Jack asked.

Donna smiled and took a sip of her drink. "I told him and Rose to finish working things out while I met with you lot and did some shoppin'."

Jack grinned. "Work things out? Just what are they suppose to be working out, Donna?" Jack asked with a lascivious grin.

"Jack!" Donna scolded him.

"Oh, come on! You can't just say stuff like that and not expect us to want details. I mean, give us a little something before we have to handle all the doom and gloom of whatever nasty thing is coming our way from psycho Time Lord." Jack said.

"Fine. They are officially together now. Saw it with my own eyes. He tossed her over his shoulder and hauled her down a corridor. Practically shagged against a wall before all this dream stuff happened," Donna said and nibbled on some appetizers that were delivered to the table.

"Now we're talking!" Jack said, slapping hand down on the table to emphasize his point.

"So, Rose settled him down now. I mean, he was a bit over the edge when we left," Martha said, still worried.

Donna looked at her. "I think he's going to be okay. They both are. They just need time."

"Yeah, well time might not be something they have," Mickey said and pointed at a television.

They all sat in silence as a reporter talked about reports of shared dreams across the globe.

Donna pulled out her phone and hit speed dial. She hung up and dialed again. Eventually she ended the call and glared at the phone.

"No answer?" asked Martha.

"No. I tried both of 'em"

"Maybe they're, uh busy?" Jack said emphasizing "busy."

"Don't be daft! They knew I would call 'em and how important this is! Something's wrong."

"Well, there's nothing you can do other than keep trying," Martha said sympathetically.

"Yeah I s'pose," Donna agreed, still staring at the phone. "Anyway, let's finish lunch and I'll just go shoppin' like I planned and keep trying them."

"If you don't reach him, let me know, okay?" Martha said.

Donna nodded.

"Until then," Jack held up his glass. "To companions present and past. May we survive the unknown and live to lunch another day," Jack toasted.

After everyone clinked their glasses, Mickey looked at Jack. "That's kind of funny comin' from the bloke that can't die."

"Mickey!" Martha said in a warning tone.

"Yeah," Jack said softly. "Trust me, if it really is the Master, being immortal, it's not funny at all."

The Tardis dematerialized on a frozen planet. Rose emerged from the Tardis bundled up in a heavy navy coat and a long scarf wrapped around her neck. The Doctor slowly walked out behind her.

"Doctor!" Rose called out after he locked the Tardis.

An Ood stood before them.

"Ah, hello there you are!" the Doctor called out in feigned cheer. "I believe you rang us."

"You should not have delayed," the Ood said.

"Oh I don't think we're overly tardy. Are we Rose? I mean it was one little quick jaunt to Earth. Good ole Earth! Had to make sure it was you know still there and then there was the pantry run. Had to drop off Donna for cream and Jammy Dodgers. Can't have tea without…"

"Doctor!" Rose interrupted.

"What? Oh yes, summoning. You did summon us, right?" he asked, tugging at his ear.

"You will come with me," the Ood said, a bit ominously.

As they walked, Rose looked at the magnificent structures of a city they were entering. "Doctor, look at the city," Rose said in awe. "I thought you said, they were just rebuilding after the humans tried to lobotomize 'em."

"Yes," he answered softly "Excuse me, Ood Sigma but, how old are you 'cos this is just magnificent!"

"One hundred years," he answered simply.

The Doctor stopped yanking Rose back with him. "But that's impossible! This is way too advanced and you! You shouldn't be capable of the kind of telepathy you used to contact me in just a hundred years. Something's wrong here."

"Yes, the mind of the Ood is troubled," Ood Sigma responded.

"Troubled? Why?" the Doctor asked, as Ood Sigma continued to lead them into the city.

"Every night, Doctor. Every night we have bad dreams."

The Doctor's eyes widened and he looked frightened. Rose shivered uncontrollably and couldn't help but feel like something was creeping around, hiding in the periphery, watching and waiting. Soon, they entered the Ood's council chamber.

Several robed Ood knelt around a low table with incense burning in the middle. They seemed to be rocking in some type of rhythm.

They began chanting, "_Through the dark and the fire and the blood, always returning, returning to this world. They are returning and he is returning and the new they are returning, but too late, too late, far too late, he is come_."

"Rose Tyler and the Doctor will sit with the Elder of the Ood and share the dreaming," Ood Sigma said and stood waiting for the Doctor and Rose to join the circle of Ood.

Rose looked at the Doctor who stared at the Elder Ood. He pulled Rose with him as he made his way to the table and he and rose knelt joining the circle.

The Elder Oods began chanting, "_You will join, you will join, you will join_."

The Doctor turned to Rose. "Rose, try and clear your mind and push everything behind doors. We need to find out what's happening here and to do that, we need to form a telepathic link with the Ood." Rose looked at him nervously. "It'll be okay. I'll be right here," he said softly and squeezed her hand.

She nodded, took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

As they joined with the Ood, Rose felt almost swept away, like she was in some place floating and then the nightmare came. The Ood began speaking in their mellow pleasant tones. "_He comes to us, every night. We think all the peoples of the universe dream of him now_."

The insane laughter reverberated all around Rose and she felt herself trembling until a warmth encircled her. She felt a hand her hers and knew no matter what happened, everything would be all right.

Rose then heard the Doctor's voice. "This is impossible. He's dead."

"_And yet, he comes to us, every night. There is yet more. A darkness looms, it follows the man who is dead and yet not. There is a woman, a connection to you, the Doctor Donna. The lines converge on her. She is the gateway, the path through which the nightmare may find it's way to this universe_."

"No!" the Doctor shouted.

"_Shadows and Fire; Wolf and Storm; the Doctor Donna, the Immortal, the She who Walked the World and the Loyal Tin Dog. All the lines will converge on Earth. It is the inevitable, the foregone conclusion. You should not have delayed. Now, this must happen, will happen. The mists of time do not allow us to see more. Fate must see to itself_."

"But this cannot be! The Master is dead. The man in your vision, he is dead. I was there."

"_And yet, you did not see_," the Ood chanted.

"What do you mean? Show me?"

The Ood showed the Doctor a woman's hand remove a ring from the ashes of the funeral pyre and the Master's laughter reverberated around them.

"Doctor, I think I know what happened," Rose whispered.

"So do I," he whispered back. "There's a piece of the Master in that ring. He channeled his mind, his essence into the ring. He's waiting to be freed."

"Oh my Gawd!" Rose almost shouted. "Donna! He's gonna use Donna! We have to save her!"

"Is this true?" the Doctor shouted distressed.

"_It is more than a ring, more than the release of a madman. The Master is part of a greater design, because a shadow is falling over creation. Something vast is stirring in the dark. The Ood have gained this power to see through time because time is bleeding_."

"What do you mean!" the Doctor shouted.

"_This is what we have seen, Doctor. The darkness heralds only one thing, the end of time itself_," they chanted.

The Doctor immediately yanked he and Rose from the circle. He pulled her up. "No!" he shouted and ran with Rose at his side back to the Tardis.

"_And so it begins_…" the Ood chanted as the Tardis dematerialized from their world


	9. Chapter 9

a/n: Bows down before who_in_whoville who is most patient and fixes all my grammar failure. The idea behind nekid Master walking through the neighborhood is all on Timelord1. The phrase Void Lords comes from fannishliss who came up with that after reading Finding The way. She very kindly allowed me to steal it for this fic.

This chapter is only here cause who_in_whoville convinced me people still wanted to read this. I know that perhaps incorporating EoT may have scared some people off. This is not an Eleven fic and no, Ten is not regenerating. That doesn't mean bad things won't happen but this is AU so even if I incorporate some EoT plot into my story, this is a very unique take on that. I had been considering a third story but am not sure given. I will if enough people want to read it. I am leaving a poll up on my profile so please let me know if you want to read more.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who

Donna left lunch with Martha, Mickey and Jack, promising to call them as soon as she reached the Doctor or Rose on the mobile. She was feeling a bit miffed that the Doctor and Rose were ignoring her calls or, as Jack suggested, were busy doing "other things." She looked at the wad of bills the Doctor had given her and her mind was made up. Shopping trip.

Donna caught the bus and went by her favorite shops, picking up some new trainers, trousers and a couple of cute tops. On her way home to her Mum's house, she took her time and strolled through some boutiques and antique shops. Since her mother had a tendency to treat Donna to an acerbic lecture on work, jobs and marriage, Donna thought it best to buy her a gift to sweeten her demeanor.

She took her time moseying in and out of cute little shops searching for some pretty bauble that might make her mum smile. Finally, she found the ultimate little shop. She smiled when she saw it, knowing the Doctor would have fancied it and wasted no time in dragging her inside.

"Serves him right for missing it. Should've listened for his mobile. Daft, inconsiderate alien," she grumbled and walked into the dark and musty shop. The bell rang on the door as she entered and a middle aged ginger haired woman with heavy eye make up dressed in bright bohemian clothing greeted her.

"Welcome to The Little Shop! My name is Clarice. May I help you find something?" she asked, the bangles on her wrist jangling as she dramatically welcomed Donna.

"No Thanks, just lookin," Donna answered as she walked down an aisle. The shop was a typical old antique shop with shelves filled with everything from tea cups to picture frames to strange little bric-a-brac. She paused at a table stacked with some music and jewelry boxes. Donna picked up some silver and cloisonné boxes and set them down wandering further down the aisle looking at vases, china figurines, candlesticks and some old Victorian type combs and mirrors. As she wandered back toward the front, a jade pendent in a glass case caught her eye.

Clarice wandered up behind the case. "Ahhh, you have found a fine piece. The finest jade has this emerald green color and the delicate silver design encasing it is the Chinese symbol for love. Is this a gift?"

"Well, I was looking for something for my Mum but I don't know if this is right," Donna said, thinking about pendent.

"Oh, but she would love jade! It is a sign of virtue and combined with the love symbol it would surely express a daughter's devotion to her mother," the woman purred. "I'll even throw in a matching ring and jewelry box," the woman pressed, determined to make a sale.

Clarice pulled out the pendent and handed it to Donna who held it up. "It is pretty, but I'm not sure 'bout this price."

"Oh come now, a daughters love for her mother has no price," she said, her long multicolored jacket swishing as she gestured.

Donna looked up at her. "Oh, but you don't know my mum. Some days I'm not so sure 'bout that love has no price bit."

"Surely, any mother would be fortunate to have such a beautiful, intelligent and caring daughter," the sales woman cajoled.

Donna smiled. "Well she is pretty lucky!" Donna agreed, running a hand through her hair.

Clarice knew she had Donna where she wanted her. "Tell you what and I really shouldn't do this but I like you. How about I knock fifteen percent off the pendant." Clarice offered

"Twenty," Donna countered.

"Done!" the salesgirl, Clarice shouted.

Donna handed her the pendent and they walked to the front. Clarice pulled out a beautiful oval shaped silver embellished footed jewelry case in which she placed the pendent. She wrapped it in colorful tissue paper and placed it in a bag while Donna reached for her money. Clarice stared coldly at Donna as she reached beneath the counter and produced a silver and green ring.

"Perhaps you would like to wear the ring home?" she suggested with a feral grin.

Donna looked at the ring and frowned. "Looks a bit beat up. No wonder your givin' it away," she said, holding it in her hand. She missed seeing the angry look on the woman's face. "Guess I could clean it up when I get home."

The woman plastered a fake smile on her face. "It will look lovely with your coloring."

"Maybe," Donna said and paid for her mother's gift. She thanked the sales girl and left the shop.

Clarice walked up to the door and put the closed sign up. "Praise be the Master. It won't be long now my lord," she said and walked away smiling.

Donna's mother greeted her with her typical criticism and asking her when she would stop her foolish perpetual vacation and settle down with a real job and plan for the future. Donna rolled her eyes and handed her the gift. Her mother seemed to appreciate it in her own stilted way.

After dinner, Donna sat up on the hill with Wilf. "So darling, tell me what have you been up to? Where's the Doctor?" he asked, happy to have her home and tell him stories of her travels.

"Oh Gramps, it all went pear shaped after the Dalek thing," she said, as she sat next to Wilf looking up at the stars wondering where her friends were. She summarized everything to Wilf and sat back and sighed.

"And this Darkness, you think it's comin' here then?" Wilf asked.

"I dunno, Gramps but we think it's tied into this nightmare everyone's havin."

"You mean that crazy Saxon fellow? It's alien then? They're gettin' into our heads!" Wilf exclaimed, shifting and glaring up at the stars.

"There's got to be some kind of connection. The Doctor would know if I could bloody well reach him," Donna said and pulled out her mobile and glared at it.

"Don't you worry 'bout a thing, Sweetheart. We'll pull together the forces and be ready for those alien invaders until the Doctor gets here."

Donna sighed. "Gramps, I don't want you in the middle of this. Promise me you won't do anything dangerous," Donna pleaded softly.

Wilf smiled and patted her on the back, "Don't worry, Sweetheart. I've got experience with this alien stuff now. Faced down some Daleks with your Mum I did!" he answered proudly.

Donna's face planted into her hands and she shook her head muttering, "You daft alien, you better ring me and quick or so help me, shaggin' blondie will be the least of your worries."

Later that night, Donna spent some time polishing up the ring. She slipped it on her finger and looked at it in the light. It was silver with a silver and jade design on it with circular markings on the face of it. Donna snorted. "Yeah right, this is a real deal. Nothin' but a cheap bit of poorly made costume jewelry," she muttered although, something about it looked familiar. She spent some time examining it but was soon feeling too exhausted to give it too much more thought. She took it off and set it down on a table next to her bed. As she turned in for the night, she missed seeing the ring begin to glow ever so slightly.

The next morning she awakened feeling groggy and awful. It was difficult for her to get out of bed and she had a raging headache. "Great, just what I needed, a migraine on top of everything else. She showered lingering under the beating hot spray hoping for relief but not finding it. She dressed in her new jeans and jumper and decided to try some coffee and see if that helped.

"Well, finally you decided to join us did you?" her mother asked, pointedly looking at the clock and the late hour of the morning.

"Mum, I have a splitting headache. Can we not do this right now," Donna asked as she poured herself some coffee, adding a splash of cream.

"It's always something isn't it. Off on holiday, traveling about instead of building a life for yourself. Look at you! Wandering in here when most people are off at work making something of themselves. And here you are, no job, no prospects just livin' like some vagabond! When does it end Donna? When are you gonna wake up!" her mother criticized.

"I'm fine! I like this life. I've done more, been more with the Doctor than I have the entire rest of my life! He needs me and so does Rose. I can make a difference and that's what's important, not goin' to work everyday, listenin' to the latest gossip and slappin' away the roamin' hands of some lecherous boss! Now, can we please give it a rest? My head is killin' me," Donna said and slumped down on the table.

Her mother sighed unhappily. "Fine! Stay here and do nothin' while you wait for that Doctor of yours to come back whenever he feels like it. If he feels like it, that is," she said and left Donna in the kitchen.

Donna sipped some coffee but was still in pain. Lifting her head was a bit of an effort but when she felt her phone vibrate, she jerked up and answered it. "Doctor!" she said without looking to see who it was.

"No, but someone equally gorgeous," Jack answered in a charming voice.

"Oh, Jack it's you," Donna said with little enthusiasm.

"Hey now, that's a sure way to kill a guy's ego."

"Sorry, Jack. I'm not doin' so well," Donna explained in a pained voice.

Jack who was sitting at his desk in the hub sat up straighter. "What's wrong?" he asked concerned for Donna.

"Other than the Doctor and Rose are still missing and we have some psycho terrorizing everyone's dream you mean? Well, it's just I feel like I'm comin' down with something. I thought the Tardis was suppose to boost are immune systems so we didn't get sick. I've never had a headache like this before."

"I don't like it. I'm calling Martha to head over to check you out. It's too much a coincidence that you're suddenly sick like this," Jack said, now worried about what else was happening.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Look I'm gonna run out to the chemist."

"Are you sure? I don't want you…" Jack started to say before Donna cut him off.

"Look, I just need to pick up something. I'll be fine until Martha gets here. Besides, my Mum's drivin' me barmy. Why'd you call anyway? Did something' happen?"

Jack sighed. "Yeah. UNIT's going nuts about some cult thing. Apparently, all these nightmares is stirring up this cult that followed Saxon. It's puttin' people on edge including me. I just wanted to make sure you're all right. Those people are nuts and I wouldn't put it past them to target you since you travel with the Doctor. Just promise me you'll be careful."

"Great. All we need is more loonies muckin' about while some crazy Time Lord is haunting us," Donna complained.

"Call me when you get home so I know you're safe," Jack insisted.

Donna smiled slightly. "You know how to make a girl feel special don't ya Captain. You gonna ask me on a date next?" Donna asked, her voice still not filled with its usual spark.

"Would you say yes?" Jack teased.

"If we get through this nightmare thing, maybe you'll find out," she answered and hung up, smiling at the phone. Her head continued to pound and she knew she needed to go pick up migraine medicine. She slugged her way to her purse and the car keys, and leaned against a wall pinching the bridge of her nose.

"You all right, sweetheart?" Wilf asked.

"Fine, Gramps. Just a headache. Was going out to the chemist to pick something up."

"Well not like that you are. Come along, I'm goin' with you," he said and took away her keys.

"Gramps, you don't have to. I'll be fine," she said as she winced.

Wilf smiled at her. "Donna," he said cajoling her.

"Oh, all right! Let's just get there," she said and followed him out.

While they ran to the chemist, Donna's mother, Sylvia, started straightening up the house. She walked into Donna's room and sighed at the disarray. As she straightened the bed, the jade ring caught her attention. She held it up and examined it.

"Can't settle down and get a job, but she can go off buying baubles," Sylvia said, shaking her head in disapproval. She tried the ring on and admired it in the light. A charge began building in the room and electricity shot out of light fixtures and the electric sockets arcing across the room. Sylvia tried to duck out of the way but was caught in the middle. The ring began to glow and soon it was drawing the electricity into it. Sylvia screamed as the charge began filtering through the ring into her body. She dropped convulsing to the floor and fell unconscious..

As quickly as it started, the electrical storm inside the house stopped. A green glow filed the room and golden energy shot from the ring on Sylvia's finger. The metal and green face of the ring began moving and unlocking until like a flower unfurling it's petals, it opened and a golden glow as bright as the sun burst forth into the room. As it dimmed, a male figure emerged.

He was blonde with cold blue eyes and close cropped blonde hair. He reached down and yanked the ring off of unconscious Sylvia's finger and placed it on his own hand.

"I'll be taking that," he said shoved her body out of the way as he flexed the muscles of his lean and toned physique and ran his hand over his face and hair. He inhaled and slowly exhaled examining the room around him. "How revolting. Of all the places to reanimate, it had to be some dirty little primitive human dwelling," he said, a look of disgust on his face. He proudly walked naked through the Noble household exploring each room, picking up bric-a- brac and tossing it aside, destroying things as he walked through the house trying to find clothing. He couldn't find anything that fit or he deemed worthy.

"Beyond common and loathsome. Twenty-first century Earth filled with stupid, stinking humans," he muttered. "Oh, and not even a laser screwdriver to be had!" he complained. "Where's a minion when you need one," he again muttered as he pulled drawers out, rifling through them. Finding nothing, he cursed. In the kitchen, he grabbed a piece of chicken, took a bite and spit it out, tossing the chicken leg aside. He grabbed a few more items before settling on pizza which he downed with a bottle beer. After concluding there was nothing else useful in the house, he walked out leaving the door hanging wide open. He looked up at the bright blue sky filled with puffy white clouds and smiled. Oh this was going to be a glorious day, he could feel it.

He slapped his hands together and rubbed them. "Let's see now, transportation!" he exclaimed as he scanned the neighborhood. He walked a few houses, people gaping at the nude angry man walking with purpose. He stomped through flower beds and kicked aside a cat that was in the way before he grabbed a man leaving his car. He tossed the man aside and took his keys. The car was a compact but he was able to fold himself inside although, he grumbled about rubbish twenty-first century transportation before squealing the wheels as he sped away.

Unfortunately, this was not the Master's day. The vehicle ran out of gas. He burst out of the car which stalled in the middle of the street and began cursing it and shaking his hand. Several cars behind him were honking their horns and giving him obscene gestures. He turned his furious glare at them and stood defiant in all his naked glory. "Just you wait until I dominate this planet!" he shouted at them. "You and whatever ignorant sod that invented this primitive rubbish transport will suffer!" he shouted, kicking the car and then wincing when he realized he had no shoes on.

When the cars drove around him with people shouting obscenities at him, he became even more enraged. He pulled out the mobile phone from the car and stormed off toward a shopping area, madly punching buttons on it as he reprogrammed it to serve his purpose. He walked into a men's shop and a male sales associate stared at him gaping. The Master grabbed him and smashed his forehead against his. "You will bring me appropriate attire!" he commanded.

The sales associate, whose tag identified him as Carl, stared blankly and said, "Yes, Master."

"It's about time!" he said smugly at Carl's obedience. His eyes turned cold. "While you're at it, bring me a Perrier and something decent to eat! Well hurry up! I have planets to dominate and enemies to destroy!" He shouted and walked toward a stunned sales girl. "It's so hard to find good help," he told her before dragging her back to a dressing room. If anyone had been in the store, they would have heard the girl's scream echoing after the dressing room door banged shut.

Donna and Wilf returned home to find Martha and Mickey just pulling up. Wilf helped Donna out of the car and Martha ran over to help.

"Donna, are you all right?" Martha asked as she began assessing Donna's health.

"I dunno. I have this awful headache and just feel like the I've been on a "run for my life" marathon with the Doctor," she said and then she looked at the front door.

Mickey walked up and pulled out a weapon. "You always leave the door like that?" he asked Wilf, staring at the open door.

"No sir, we do not. Is that thing locked and loaded?" Wilf asked, military training kicking in.

"You betcha. This little baby packs a wallop. Anything comes out that door and it will be out in seconds."

"Stop it, both of you! Mum is in there!" Donna shouted and slumped against the car as Martha produced an alien looking scanner which she waved in front of Donna's face.

Donna pushed the scanner aside. "We need to find out what happened!" She stood up wobbling a bit.

Martha looked at the results on the scanner and then at Donna. "Donna, you shouldn't be going anywhere," she said with concern.

"My Mum is in there and something happened!" Donna shouted at her and then looked at Mickey. "Well, don't just stand there!"

Mickey walked in first with Wilf behind him who grabbed an umbrella from just inside the door. Donna, with Martha holding her up, followed behind them. The house was a wreck. Donna called out for her mum, and Mickey winced shaking his head at the loss of their stealthy entrance. They made their way to the back toward the bedrooms and found Sylvia laying unconscious on the floor.

"Mum!" Donna shouted and collapsed beside.

Martha quickly assessed that she had a pulse and was breathing. She scanned her with the alien device, a worried look on her face. "We need to get both of them to UNIT or Torchwood," she said.

Mickey who had finished checking out the house came back into the room. "All clear. Whatever did this is gone now." He pointed out the scorch marks on the walls. "Looks like some kind of electrical storm was inside the house. All the outlets are blackened and it busted all the lights."

Martha pulled out her phone about to call for back up when they heard Jack appear. "Donna!" he shouted.

"How'd you get here so fast?" Mickey asked looking at him suspiciously.

"Vortex manipulator," he answered, tapping his wrist.

"Thought the Doctor disabled that?" Martha said, looking at the device.

"Welll, he sort of did. Can't travel in time, but I figured out the base code to get the teleport working. What happened to Sylvia?"

"We're not sure but, it's also effecting Donna. I scanned Donna earlier and like's someone was siphoning energy out of her. Normally, all time travelers have traces of artron energy but Donna doesn't anymore. This thing," she said holding up the scanner. "It scans a person's biology including, chemical make up and energy readings. It's like someone's been draining Donna to the point that it's caused a chemical reaction in her body. Sylvia's the same only worse."

"Something sucked the life out of them?" Wilf asked, still gripping the umbrella and looked around nervously.

"Yeah, sort of. You don't seem effected though," Martha said, looking at him.

"Could it be something in the house?" Mickey asked, visually combing the room for anything out of place. "I've seen alien stuff that can do somethin' like that. Specially, if they both touched it."

"Could be," Jack commented, looking at Donna. "But, I don't think so. This is too much a coincidence with everything else going on. Let's get them to Torchwood."

"Donna would never bring any alien life sucking thing home!" Wilf insisted, poking Mickey in the chest with the umbrella. "This is more of that alien mischief. They're always causing trouble here. You, Captain Harkness, let's get them somewhere they can be helped and then let's go after these evil alien bastards who attacked my family," Wilf practically ordered.

Jack smiled. He liked Wilf, even if he was outgunned. He had spirit and determination and Jack knew from experience, sometimes that was one powerful weapon. "Wilf's right, let's get them to Torchwood. They'll be safe there."

"Cardiff's too far and you can't move Donna and Sylvia by vortex manipulator. They're not stable enough," Martha told him.

"Do I have to do everything!" Donna shouted, slumped against a wall. "Just take us to a hospital and use your clearance or whatever to seal off the floor or something," she said miserably.

"Donna, you just might be on to something," Jack said, smiling at her. He turned to Martha. "Canary Wharf. No one's using it and it has a medical facility that should have everything you need. It's closer than Cardiff."

Martha and Mickey looked at him with little enthusiasm. "You want me to take them to Canary Wharf? That place is practically haunted, Jack. It's sealed off and under high security quarantine. No one knows what all they were playing with in there and it was deemed a threat to national security," Martha said, clearly unhappy with this idea.

"Yeah, well for most people it would be dangerous, but not for us. Besides, I'll be there and I have clearance to get us in. UNIT knows I'm the only one who can identify what's in that place." Jack looked over at Donna who was having a hard time keeping her eyes open. "Enough arguing. We're going. Now, come on!" he ordered and picked Donna up in his arms and began carrying her outside.

Martha and Mickey looked at each other and nodded. They and Wilf lifted up Sylvia to carry her out to the car and onward to Canary Wharf.

The Doctor was madly dashing around the console and ordering Rose to work certain controls as he flew them into the vortex and toward Earth. Rose watched him worried. He seemed scared and angry.

"There!" he shouted. Rose hit three switches and ran over to his side, gripping the console for dear life.

"What?" she asked, staring that the Gallifreyan writing flying across the screen.

He tapped the screen with his finger. "That shouldn't be there," he enunciated each word, a look of fear on his face.

"What? What is it?" she asked feeling his terror.

"Something that no longer exists and yet, it's there," he said softly. The Tardis jerked and shuddered much more than usual and the cloister bell began tolling.

"What's happening!" Rose demanded.

"She doesn't want to land! She can feel how warped the time lines are. Something is twisting time and ripping holes in the universe!" he shouted as he frantically tried to pilot them. "Hang on!" he finally said as the Tardis screamed in her head as they tumbled toward a landing.

Rose lost consciousness as they crashed. When she opened her eyes, the Doctor was hovering over her, cradling her head in his lap. "Rose," he said with a broken voice.

She smiled and reached up and caressed his face. "It's all right. I'm here."

A look of relief briefly passed over his face before he became quite serious. "The Tardis won't be going anywhere for a while." Rose sat up abruptly, gripping her head and wincing in pain. "Easy," the Doctor admonished her.

Rose reached out with her mind. "She's so quiet," she whispered.

"Yes, well we did bust through a tangle of time lines and basically the universe convulsing and beginning to unravel. She'll be all right eventually." He didn't tell her that the Tardis would require a slow recovery and would probably need to be moved to the rift and none of this would happen if they couldn't solve the issue at hand.

"Up you come!" he said, standing up and pulling her up with him. "Let's take a look outside and see where we are."

They stepped outside and found themselves in a park outside of London. There was a burnt up area not far from them that was sealed off with police tape. It looked like something had fallen from space and crashed there. Smoke was still rising from the ground and there was a burnt smell to the air. The area around them was vacant of people or any life for that matter. There were no birds singing or even insects buzzing. It was eerily quiet as if waiting for something.

Rose looked around while the Doctor made his way to crater. After walking around, realizing there was no one and nothing here, Rose made her way to the Doctor who stood staring at the crater.

"Doctor, what's happening? Where is everyone? There should be people here. I mean, people would come out to look at something like this."

"It's too late," he whispered.

"What do you mean too late?" Rose asked worriedly.

"He's all ready here. It's begun," he said mysteriously as he looked out across the park in the direction London would be.


	10. Chapter 10

a/n: Bows down before who_in_whoville who is most patient and fixes all my grammar failure. The phrase Void Lords comes from fannishliss who came up with that after reading Finding The way. She very kindly allowed me to steal it for this fic.

Oh, there is a poll on my scifigeekgirl user page. Please feel free to pop over there and vote if you want me to write another story in this verse. Thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who

It wasn't long before the Master's cult found him at the shop. He was now dressed smartly in a dark charcoal gray suit with a vibrant red tie. He turned when he saw two dark haired men and a ginger haired woman enter and bow before him.

"Well! What took you so long? Do you know where I generated? Some tasteless, puny human hovel!" he shouted. He straightened his tie and kicked aside the body of the sales associate whose life force he had drained. "Now tell me what's happening," he commanded.

The ginger haired girl, Clarice, looked up at him. "We knew the time had come as your most powerful image had been spread across the planet in the dreams of every human. We reveled in it. We found one of the Doctor's companions, Donna Noble, and passed the ring to her. Her temporal energy and life force was strong and provided the needed sustenance to bring you back. I'm sorry My Lord, the transference happened before we arrived to witness your glorious return."

"The hag on the floor was one of his companions?" he said with a disgusted look on his face. "He's slumming now isn't he," the Master stated.

"No My Lord, Donna Noble was his ginger haired companion. We watched the Torchwood agent and other friends of the Doctor take her and the mother away after you left.

"The freak," he said, pacing in front of his followers. He turned back to them. "And the Doctor?"

"We have not seen him recently. We know that he dropped off his friends six months ago and Donna Noble just a day ago. He and the blonde woman left and have not returned since."

"Blonde woman? Who's she?"

"We believe her to be the companion he lost at the battle of Canary Wharf. We don't know how she has returned."

The Master grinned. "The girl who swallowed time. Oh this is going to be a good day!" he said and snapped his fingers. "Canary Wharf! Yes, there should be plenty of fun things there. Things that could be interesting and cause destruction." He looked at Clarice. "You!" he said pointing at her. "Get me an entourage and suitable transportation and none of those puny transports! Get me something with style!" he said and walked toward the door looking outside. "Come on Doctor, you sappy, altruistic do-gooder. Time to play a new game."

Jack was easily able to get everyone into Canary Wharf and they went straight to the infirmary. Donna and Sylvia were placed on beds with Wilf looking after them while Mickey, Martha and Jack organized the infirmary and gathered together equipment and supplies Martha would need.

"I think there's something in the alien artifact storage unit that could help. I'll be right back. Don't leave the infirmary and I mean it. There's dangerous alien tech around here and some of it's still active..." he warned them as he left the room.

Martha looked worried as she stared at some of the more nefarious equipment in the infirmary. She and Mickey set up some IVs and attached them to Donna and Sylvia to try and stabilize them.

Mickey pulled Martha away from Wilf. "What you think?"

She looked him in the eyes. "I think Sylvia will stabilize. She's suffering symptoms similar to electrocution, but it's like whatever happened, was aimed more at Donna."

"But, Donna was walkin' and talkin' while Sylvia was flat out cold," Mickey reminded her.

"Yes, but Donna's younger and had all that arton energy. I think whatever it was latched onto her and was draining her slowly for hours will Sylvia just got one quick shock. I dunno Mick. If the Doctor were here maybe he'd know what to do or have something in the Tardis to help," Martha said, her voice laced with concern.

"Then we gotta find him. We've gotta keep tryin'. Give me your mobile," Mickey asked and reached for Martha's phone and punched in Rose's number.

Jack was quickly sorting through the alien devices and experiments stored in the under levels of Canary Wharf. He found a hand held device and smiled. Something moved in a dark end of the cavernous storage room and he tensed. No one else was suppose to be here. He pulled out his gun and crept closer to the dark area. Something fell off a table and he ducked down behind some shelves. A group of three people walked by wheeling a cart. He heard one mention, "The Master will be pleased."

After they left. Jack stood up cursing. He had to get back to the medical facility and quick. It took him some time to sneak his way back as there were more armed people walking around. He heard them talking about the dawn of a new age and some type of ceremony that was suppose to provide the Master with ultimate power.

Jack carefully snuck away noticing that all the activity seemed to be on the upper floors. He ducked into an office and hacked into the security system with his Vortex manipulator and found out that whatever they were doing, was happening in the ghost room.

"No, not there," he whispered fearfully, knowing that the ghost room was where the universal barrier was weakest. "He wouldn't," Jack again whispered, but knew that the Master was capable of anything. There was nothing to stop him from punching a hole into the Void or another universe if he wanted. He looked at his vortex manipulator and began punching in a signal to the Tardis and hoped the Doctor noticed before it was too late.

As he was about to leave, he saw a flash of white out the corner of his eye. He turned with gun drawn and found himself face to face with a woman with slightly graying brown hair dressed in a professional looking cream colored suit sitting behind a desk. She smiled a gentle smile but her eyes were filled with sadness."Who are you?" Jack demanded, still leveling his gun at sat back in her chair, seemingly unconcerned about the weapon now pointed at her. "No one anymore. I was lost long ago," she answered softly. "Events are moving Jack, faster than we expected. A song from long ago will sound across not just this planet but the universe. It is a song of madness and destruction. It must be stopped as it was once before.""I don't understand." Jack said, shaking his head. His gut instinct was to trust this woman and he lowered his weapon. "You're not with the Master are you?" he smiled. "You love him, both of them. Even now, after all this time through all that you have endured, you still possess compassion for the one that made you and the one that ran. You don't even know why do you? Time has a way of binding lives together with such intricacy and elegance that we can never understand, only wonder.""You're not human. You're…" Jack said, but didn't finish his sentence as he looked into her eyes and saw an old soul. He knew those eyes and was astounded at what this woman being here meant."If the Doctor falls, so will all you know and protect. You are the White Knight**. ** He will not want to sacrifice you and neither will she. They will destroy themselves first to protect you. There will be a choice, a pivotal point at which your choice dictates the fate of the universe. The only certainty is a sacrifice must be made."

"Well that's obvious. I can't die so if there's any sacrificing, it will be me," Jack said cautiously."So human, even now after all this time. He was always right about your species." she said smiling kindly at him. "Everything ends eventually, even a conundrum of time. The choice will be yours to make. When the time comes, the Black Knightwill have a moment of clarity. That is your only opportunity." She arose from the chair and walked by Jack, pausing. "You must not tell him about me or all will be lost." She smiled once more and walked out the door."But… Hey, wait that doesn't..." Jack started to say, but found something was stopping him from going after her. Eventually, he shook himself out of the daze of worry and confusion from being confronted by the mysterious woman. He crawled over and peeked out the door and the building shook. He looked up cursing the Master and when he saw the coast was clear, made his way back to the infirmary.

Rose's phone rang and the Doctor looked over at her. "It's Mickey," she said and picked up.

"Mickey?"

"Rose, thank gawd! You and the Doctor have to get to Canary Wharf as soon as you can. Somthin's happened to Donna and her mum."

The Doctor watched as Rose's eyes reflected the horror she was feeling from whatever Mickey said to her. The Doctor grabbed the phone.

"Mickey! What's going on!" the Doctor demanded.

"It's about bloody time! Where the 'ell have you two been! We've been tryin' to reach you to for the past day! You've got to get to Canary Wharf now!" Mickey yelled.

"Oi! We've been tied up in a crisis tryin' to save this planet!" the Doctor shouted back. "Let me talk to Donna!"

Martha grabbed the phone. "Doctor, Donna and her mum are unconscious. It's like something sucked the life and time right out of them. Donna was conscious when we found her, but she's getting worse!" Martha told him and gave him the date and time of their location. The building shook as if an explosion had rocked it. "Shit!" she shouted in the phone before she was disconnected.

The Doctor held the phone out, staring at it in terror for Donna. He looked at Rose, his eyes haunted. "We have to get to Canary Wharf."

"They're at Canary Wharf right now?" Rose asked, worried for Donna but feeling a prickling of fear at the thought that something bad was once again going to happen at that place that had so ripped apart her world.

The Doctor ignored her questions and grabbed her hand while staring off into the distance. "Come on!" he said and dragged her along as he ran toward a motorcycle. He mounted it, soniced the ignition and then his glasses, turning them into sunglasses. "The Master has activated a psychic field directed to all the humans on the planet putting them into a sleep-like coma," he explained.

"But what about Mickey and everyone at Canary Wharf? They seemed fine and how do you know it's this Master?"

"The field could be generated from Canary Wharf and not affect anyone there. I know it's the Master, Rose. I can feel him," the Doctor explained and tapped his head as he made some adjustments to the motorcycle's engine with his sonic.

Although she had horrible feelings about heading straight to Canary Wharf, she grabbed a helmet that was attached on the back of the motorbike and strapped it on as she climbed on behind him. She had even more misgivings about facing this Master that had such an effect on the Doctor.

As the Doctor was about to pull away, Rose saw the Little Red Hooded Girl. She held her basket out in front of her and stared at Rose. A telepathic message began playing in Rose's mind. "They are very clever and will try to deceive you. The black knight will surround the white queen and torment the white king with words as sharp as daggers, his only goal to crush the white king's heart and poison everything around him. The arrogant black king sees himself as the great architect wielding the black knight to do his will. He does not see what is before him. The Darkness hides what cannot be seen, the hidden foe that waits their turn to re-enter the game."

When the Doctor sped away, the girl disappeared and Rose shivered at her frightening prophecy. Rose clung to the Doctor's back as he increased his speed weaving in and out and around unconscious people and abandoned cars, his long coat fluttering in the breeze. Rose closed her eyes tight trying to stay positive and imbibe the Doctor with all her love and strength to face whatever horrors awaited them at Canary Wharf. She only hoped their friends were faring well.

After an hour of the Doctor's seemingly erratic and wild driving, he slowed and stopped. Rose looked around him and saw a minivan puttering its way through the stalled traffic. It slowed and stopped. A green lizard like face peered out the window.

"It's a Silurian," the Doctor told her.

"How come it's awake? I thought anyone outside of Canary Wharf was knocked out cold?

"Only affects the human population. It's why you and I aren't affected. You're not human enough anymore and I'm, well me." He dismounted and the Silurian exited the vehicle, both of them walking toward one another.

"Doctor," the Silurian addressed him inclining her head. She was armed only with a samurai sword.

"I'm sorry, have we met? Sometimes I meet people out of order you see, so you could know me…"

"But you do not know me yet," she finished. She looked over at Rose. "Your Wolf is worried and well she should be. This planet is no longer safe harbor. Something is coming and all who have taken refuge on this primitive world are leaving."

"Is that so. Don't suppose you want to tell me what _that_ is?" he asked with arched brows.

The female Silurian grinned a menacing toothy grin. "As you would say, that would be cheating. Know this old friend, a darkness is coming and the fate of this world is in flux. Not even the Lost Seer can say what will happen. Any species with self preservation is looking for a way off this planet."

The Doctor's eyes darkened. "I won't let it happen. Not this time and not this world," he said with cold certainty.

The Silurian again smiled at him. "You are the Doctor. I would expect nothing less. Any creature that plans on facing you and the Wolf is either insane or has a death wish. Good luck to you Doctor, not that you believe in it," she said mysteriously and returned to her vehicle to drive away.

The Doctor was taken aback by her belief that he and Rose were some type of fierce warriors. He never wanted that for Rose. He returned to the cycle.

"Doctor, what was that about?" Rose asked worried at his dark mood.

"Nothing, it was nothing. They're just on their way off world is all. Come on, we can't delay any longer," he told her in an emotionless tone of voice.

As they left, Rose watched menacing dark clouds building in the sky, starting to block the sun. It was as if the shadows were chasing them.

In the white room at the top of Canary Wharf, the Master stood tall and impressive watching the flurry of activity as his minions assembled a large metallic arch at the center of the room. Within this arch was a silver pedestal standing four feet high which held a round silver orb that looked liquid and yet solid at the same time. Around the edges of the room were small pillars with shiny red orbs atop them. The Master walked down toward the pedestal and ran his hand over the top, watching as the liquid metal orb rippled as if he had disturbed the surface even though he never touched.

He pulled a perfect diamond, the size of a walnut, out of his pocket and held it up. He tightened his fist around it and closed his eyes attuning his body into the rhythm of the never ending drums that perpetually haunted him. He opened his eyes and stared at the diamond as if mesmerized.

The ginger-haired Clarice walked into the room and bowed down. "Master, there is news of the Doctor."

The Master pocketed the diamond and narrowed his eyes at her. "Go on," ordered.

This facility ties into video surveillance throughout London which we have been monitoring. All has been quiet since you activated the psychotropic device until a few minutes ago. We observed two people on a motorbike riding into the outskirts of London. We believe they are coming here."

"Yes, I know. I already felt him. He always chooses the common direct route. He has no class, no finesse."

Clarice looked up at him, her eyes filled with devotion. "What are your orders, My Lord?"

The Master paced over to some devices set up off to one side of the room which appeared to be connected to the archway and caressed them. He turned back to Clarice. "Let's make him feel welcome. Set free our new pets to greet him and blondie," the Master said, smiling. "Make sure you activate all the cameras. Consider it a gift of entertainment from your lord and master," he said, as one of his followers brought him a curvy blonde dressed in a clingy red dress. She was struggling and cursing them until the Master touched her. She stopped and stared at him blankly. He held her hand and pulled her down a corridor. Minutes later, her screams echoed throughout the top floor of Canary Wharf.

As Rose and the Doctor continued to make their way closer and closer to Canary Wharf, Rose swore the sky grew even darker and the wind picked up. She saw Evil Red Riding Hood sneering at her twice along the way. Even worse, when she reached out with her feelings toward the Doctor, she was met with an icy, impenetrable wall. He was tense and focused on getting to Canary Wharf. She felt a foreboding growing within her the closer they progressed to their destination.

She was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize they were slowing down until she heard the Doctor call her name and realized he had lowered whatever telepathic walls he had erected. She sat up as the motorcycle slowed to a stop. A movement caught her eye.

"Oh Gawd!" she exclaimed as she looked on as dozens upon dozens of obviously dead people lumbered toward them, some carrying axes and other sharp objects.

"Hello, Doctor!" a voice rang out over a speaker system nearby. "Welcome to my the new and improved London. Don't mind the local population, they can be a bit homicidal," he said, a bit cheerfully. After a pause, the Master added, "Oh wait, do mind the population 'cos they have a hankering for pinstripes and cute blondes!"

The Doctor stared ahead as the undead slowly made their way toward them. He pulled out his sonic "Rose, hang on tight. This could be…" he paused, "a bit messy."

"You mean we're gonna…" she didn't finish as the Doctor revved the motorbike.

"Oh shit," she muttered and wrapped herself tightly around him. Suddenly, he took off popping a wheelie as he zoomed around some of the decomposing, bloated bodies dragging themselves after the Doctor and Rose. Rose squeaked as one grabbed onto her and it's arm was ripped off as the Doctor sped by. Rose let go of the Doctor to reach up and toss the hand aside, feeling nauseous as she did so. After all, that had been a person at some point.

As they zoomed through the streets weaving in and around unconscious people, cars and the undead, they would periodically pass electronic signs which flashed messages like, "The Master Rocks!" "Bow before the Master!" and "Praise to the Master."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me?" she muttered. "What kind of rubbish Time Lord is he. I mean is this the best he can do?"

The Doctor who had been silent sent her a telepathic message. "Don't judge him based on some pathetic signs. He's clever and ruthless and…. he can't spell apparently," the Doctor said, as he looked at a sign that flashed "The Doctor Sux." "Blimey, he's dropping his standards," the Doctor muttered.

They continued passing signs, some with images of the Master grinning and taunting them. "Go on Doctor. Run! You and your new pet won't get far! I can seeee you!"

Soon they reached a street that was wall to wall undead. The Doctor stopped and pulled his helmet off and tossed it aside. Rose did the same. He looked at her. "Take the bike. I'll divert them," he said with little emotion to his voice.

"The hell I will!" she shouted at him. "I'm not leavin' you," she said firmly.

"Do as I say and run!" he shouted.

"No!" she answered.

"Do you want to die!" he raged at her, worried at what would happen if she didn't leave now.

"I'm not gonna die and neither are you. We've been through worse and we're doin' this together. We've got to get to Canary Wharf so stop wastin' time arguin'. Now what's the plan for dealin' with the zombie apocalypse?" Rose said, crossing her arms.

The Doctor stared at her his anger evident but thinking about what she said. He looked at the undead closing in on them and turned back to her. "Uh, run?" he answered, scratching his head, looking a bit perplexed. Rose rolled her eyes, grabbed his hand and off they ran, abandoning their motorbike and heading toward some buildings.

As they passed an electronics store, all the televisions displayed the Master's face laughing. "Oh come on! You can do better than this! Where's all that blood, anger and revenge!" he taunted and tossed some popcorn at the screen.

"Bloody annoying psycho Time Lord," Rose muttered as the Doctor soniced open a building and they raced in. He soniced the lock and they ran up the stairs heading toward the roof.

Once on the roof, the Doctor took a minute to scan the area. They were still miles from Canary Wharf. The Doctor paced angrily about the roof. He was furious at their situation and the fact that Rose refused to leave him. His emotions were in turmoil. Not only did he have the Master to contend with but there was something worse coming.

They didn't land at that crater in the park by accident. Something impossible had crashed there. He could feel its anomalous presence as clearly as he felt the Master. A horrible fear was clawing at him. How could a white point diamond have landed on Earth? That diamond could only come from one place in the whole universe: Gallifrey. It shouldn't have been possible. The planet was time locked. Nothing could get out unless...

Rose pulled out her mobile and rang Mickey. The Doctor whipped around and looked at her aggravated. "What are you doing?" he snapped, the Oncoming Storm simmering in his eyes.

"Calling an expert," she retorted.

Mickey picked up. "Rose! Where are you? All 'ell is breakin' loose here!"

"You don't say," Rose answered dryly as she watched at least a hundred zombies racing toward the building they were standing on. "So tell me, you have a zombie problem over there then?"

"Wot! Whadda mean a zombie problem!" Mickey demanded loudly. Martha and Wilf looked over at him, their eyes widening.

Jack burst into the room, closed and locked the door. "We've got a big problem," he said, checking his revolver to make sure it was loaded.

"Yeah, well Rose is askin' 'bout zombies and she don't sound like she's jokin" Mickey explained.

Jack snorted. "Well, we've got the Master in the building. I think that trumps zombies." He grabbed the phone from Mickey. "Rose, where are you?"

Rose sighed. "Well, we're a few miles from Canary Wharf on top of some building about to be surrounded by zombies if you can believe it. Apparently this Master has a sick sense of humor."

Jack cursed loudly. "The Doctor, is he with you?"

"Yeah, he's here. Don't s'pose you have an idea on how to get us outta here." Rose walked to the edge of the building and watched the zombies banging away at the entrance trying to get in. The dark clouds that had followed them continued to grow closer and the wind picked up. Rose looked up and shivered. She felt the icy wind and could feel time shifting. Something bad was coming. "Jack, we really need to get out of here. It's coming."

Jack paled and began pacing, trying to think of a solution. Mickey cleared his throat. "What!" Jack shouted.

"Rose called me 'cos she knows I got experience in stuff like this," Mickey said smirking. "I've seen just 'bout every zombie movie there is."

Jack thrust the mobile into Mickey's chest. "Fine Mr. Expert. Get them off the building and here pronto. It won't take the Master long to figure out we're here."

Mickey's smirk fell as he heard the worry and frustration in Jack's voice. "Rose, I think I've got an idea. Look, you got anything there that can burn and when I say burn, I mean like burn zombies."

Rose stared at the phone, her face a combination of horror and disbelief.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked, after pacing around the building contemplating a multitude of solutions.

"Mick wants to know if we've got anything to burn, um you know, them down there," Rose said, indicating the undead surrounding the building, her face filled with revulsion and unable to say the word "zombies."

The Doctor stopped, stared at her and then began to grin. "Brilliant," he breathed and walked purposefully toward the edge of the building. Rose followed him holding the phone. She looked over the edge and saw what the Doctor was looking at with an excited look.

She backed away from the edge as she watched the Doctor set the sonic and point it at a truck parked next the building which was marked "Propane."

"Mick, uh I think I better go run now. I'll call you after the explosion," she said and rang off.

Mickey stared at the phone and then looked up at Jack, Martha and Wilf who looked at him expectantly. "She says she'll call us after the explosion."

Jack closed his eyes and rubbed his hands on his face. Martha sighed shaking her head and walked back to her patients.

Wilf walked up to him. "Explosion you say? So, he's blowin' up them zombies?' Mickey nodded his head as he stared at his phone. Wilf patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry son, the Doctor will save us."

Meanwhile, back at the building, Rose ducked down behind an air conditioning unit while the Doctor used the sonic to blow up the propane truck. A huge explosion rocked the building. Smoke and falling debris filled the air.

Rose coughed as she called for the Doctor. It wasn't long before he strode casually over to her seemingly pleased with himself. "Well?" she asked.

"Oh the explosion was massive, blew several of them away really. Singed a few more, but you can tell Mr. Mickey that zombies can still attack a building even when they're burning. Rose sighed and shook her head. She and the Doctor made their way through the smoke to the side of the building. Hand-in-hand they stared at the wreckage. Pieces of zombies were everywhere and bits of them were still creeping toward the building. They noticed that the glass on the front of the building they were standing on was shattered and zombies were now crawling in and soon would be up on the roof with them. Rose looked up at the Doctor as he scratched his head with a contemplative look on his face.

The mobile rang and Rose absently answered it. "Mickey it was nice…" she started to say, before another voice cut her off.

"Well hello Rose Tyler, faithful companion of the Doctor, and public menace. Don't think that you two can spoil my fun by hiding up on that nasty building and blowing up the city. If anyone's going to blow up the city, it's me! Now I…"

Rose pulled the phone from her ear, frowned and stared at it. The caller ID showed "The Master."

She looked at the Doctor while still holding the phone out all the while the Master ranted at her. "Doctor, it's for you," she said and shoved the phone at him.

"What! I'm busy!" he shouted into the phone.

"Doctor," the Master purred. "Your naughty Rose was rude to me. I was having a conversation and she ignored me. You know I can't have that. How shall I punish her?" he asked in a soft evil voice.

The Doctor sighed. "Master, I don't have time for this," he said in an even voice and rang off and handed the phone back to Rose. "What did you say to him?" he asked in a tired voice.

Before Rose could answer, her mobile rang. The caller ID showed it was The Master. "Don't….don't answer that," the Doctor said, looking at the phone with mixed feelings of curiosity and contempt.

"He'll just keep callin' if we don't. He's like some evil telemarketer," Rose explained and accepted the call and shoved the mobile at the Doctor who glared at her.

"You don't get to hang up on me! You didn't even let me tell you what I found and I know you want to know. Don't you? You want to know what fell in that park. You can feel it, can't you? Just like the drums. Tell me you can hear them now!"

The Doctor swallowed hard. "What did you find?" he whispered. Already knowing the answer.

"What cannot exist. A white point star, Doctor. Something that escaped the time lock. Think about it. Think about what I could do," The Master said in insane glee.

"No, you can't. The Time War had to be ended. They were insane. Rassilon wanted to destroy the universe and every living thing in it just so his chosen few could ascend. Do you really think you would have been amongst those whom he deemed worthy of ascension?"

"We'll see about who does the ascending," the Master asserted confidently. "Why fight it anyway. You and I could stop them and start over. Think of it. A new Gallifrey. One that could fulfill its destiny and do what our people were meant for instead of that boring and pompous noninterference nonsense. You could finally make the universe better just like you always wanted," the Master said in a persuading voice.

"No. Gallifrey's time is over. I won't help you. I'll stop you Master no matter what it takes," the Doctor said in a broken voice.

The Master laughed harshly. "Really Doctor, as I recall last time we met, you were weeping uncontrollably over my loss. Touching really," the Master said sadistically.

The Doctor's face fell and he looked so devastated and miserable Rose decided she'd had enough and yanked the phone away from him. The Doctor stared at her in shock.

"All right, now see here! We're a bit busy! Go torment someone else and stop callin!" Rose told him in a perturbed voice.

The Master who had been sitting having his nails filed by one of his cult members slapped the girl away. "Oooo! Did he just hear you talk to me that way? You insipid little blonde peasant! Do you know who you're talking to!"

"Yeah I do. A spoiled, self indulgent, egotistical psychopath who has issues with authority and needs a good slappin'!" Rose said into the phone, her Tyler temper beginning to show.

The Doctor turned and looked at her with a look of admiration and maybe a touch of lust. Rose grinned back at him cheekily still holding the phone.

The Master smiled salaciously, caressed the phone and lounged proactively across a chair. "So, you like it rough do you? He always did try and fool everyone with that goody goody exterior. He really likes things a bit more physical. Just wait till I get my hands on you and I'll show you things he only dreams about. That is, if you survive," he said snickering.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Right, been nice talkin' with you Master. See you in a bit when we stop by for tea and to kick your arse!" Rose said and rang off.

Another explosion shattered windows around the block from the building as the propane truck fire began catching other vehicles on fire. "Did you really have to taunt him like that?" the Doctor asked, not seeming too upset by it.

Rose smiled. "Oh yeah," she said, nodding her head as she walked over to the Doctor. Just as they started to snog, Jack materialized.

Jack looked over at them and grinned. "Now, you know I hate to interrupt, especially a good 'we survived the zombie horde' snog but, we still have a big problem."

The Doctor turned toward Jack. "I take it you have a better solution than Mickey's burning zombies?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, my teleport," Jack said, grinning and tapping his wrist. "I'll teleport each of you back to the clinic at Canary Wharf and we can figure out how to stop the Master from there."

The Doctor glared at Jack's vortex manipulator. "Didn't I deactivate that?"

"Yeah, but lucky for you, I knew the base code and was able to re-activate it. You should be thanking me," Jack said, stubbornly refusing to allow the Doctor to chastise him.

"We'll discuss this later. Take Rose first," the Doctor ordered, just as the zombies started banging on the door leading to the roof.

"Oh no you're not. You're takin' the Doctor first," Rose insisted. "He's more important."

"What! Oh no, no, no. If you think I'm leavin' you up here alone to face the zombies, you've lost it," the Doctor retorted, his temper building.

"Really," Rose answered, crossing her arms and staring at him stubbornly as the zombie banging increased. "I don't think so Mr. 'I want you safe away from me and I shall face the oncoming hoard like the lonely god I am'," she said, with attitude.

The Doctor loomed up over her furious at her stubborn refusal. "I have had just about enough of this. When I tell you to go, You. Will. Go!" he said in a tight angry voice.

"Uh, guys," Jack tried to interrupt.

Rose ignored Jack and walked up and stared at the Doctor with her own storm brewing. "I won't leave you! When are you going to get that into that big Time Lord brain!"

Before the Doctor could respond, Jack stepped up to them. "Hey!" he shouted. They're almost through. We have to leave now!"

"Fine! We all leave together," the Doctor said in an angry voice and grabbed Jack's arm. He viciously soniced the vortex manipulator. The door burst open and the smoking and singed zombies crawled and lumbered out.

Jack grabbed both Rose and the Doctor and shouted. "Hang on!" as he hit the teleport.

When they reappeared, they were not in the infirmary at Torchwood. They were on top of the Torchwood building. Rose fell to her knees and vomited. The Doctor gripped his head and glared at Jack who collapsed next to Rose but seemed to be handling the transport better.

The Doctor stood up and looked around. He stared at the roof and could almost hear the Master's insane laughter. He knelt by Rose, handing her a linen cloth from his pocket and helping her up. Jack stood next to him. The three of them stared at the access door leading inside the building. The dark clouds that had been building consumed the sky and all of London was in darkness. Rose shivered as they heard a voice sing.

_In a Tardis in a wood a little old Time Lord by the window stood Saw the masses screaming and running by Knocking at his door as the Darkness arrived Help us! Help us! Time Lord they cry or the Darkness will devour us all and we will surely die Helpless was the Time Lord as it all came to pass Soon he faded away as the new lords of universe arrived en masse_

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other and then Jack. Rose reached for both their hands as they turned to face the door leading into the building to face what was coming.


	11. Chapter 11

a/n: Oh my gosh where to start… Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed and favorited this story! Huge warm hugs to who_in_whoville beta extraordinaire and my sistahs, Timelord1 and aintafraidanoghosts! The three of you are awesome! Next I credit the term Void Lords to Fannishliss who suggested it after reading Finding The Way and very kindly allowed be to use it.

Okay, extra long author note! Children of Earth has not yet happened yet in his verse. Also, this is not a literal interpretation of End of Time but does include several aspects of it along with some of the dialog.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who

Gallifrey, at it's end, was a place of destruction, turmoil and despair. The grand citadel that held the leaders of the shining world of the seven systems lay in ruin, littered with the remains of Daleks, destroyed Tardis and the dead of Gallifrey. The Time Lord council chamber reverberated with fear and madness. One voice rang out strong and filled with typical Time Lord arrogance. Rassilon.

The Time Lords, out of fear, had resurrected Lord Rassilon from his stone tomb in a last ditch effort to save themselves from the losing battle against the Daleks. Rassilon's approach was calculated, cold and brutal. He had convinced the Time Lord council there was only one solution, the end of the universe and the ascension of the Time Lords to a new plain of existence. He held no concern for any other life other than his chosen elite, those he deemed worthy of survival. This determination did not include lesser Gallifreyans or any other advanced race.

Although his plans may not have called for preserving any life forms other than his chosen, this did not mean he did not employ one or some of them to serve a purpose toward achieving his final goal. None of this did he reveal to his high council. In fact, he maintained a vice like grip on those he permitted to serve him. Any who opposed him, did not oppose him for long.

There were, of course, others who did not subscribe to his solution. They very wisely remained anonymous, preferring to implement their own plans subtlety with discretion and subterfuge. He was not unaware of this, but simply was so arrogant, so self assured in his own power, he gave it no credence. After all, in the end, their life was forfeit and they would not be joining his chosen's ascension to ultimate power.

Although he was confident in his own ability to command the Time Lords, he still did not turn away from the Seer. The Seer was still highly regarded among all the Time Lords despite Rassilon's ability to persuade them to his wishes and allay their fears. She was the last of the great Sisterhood of Pythia who he himself had destroyed. Her predictions were impeccably accurate, although, only if one could discern the meaning of her ramblings which were filled with symbolism, half spoken phrases, mumbling and almost incoherent babbling.

On the day that would be heralded as the last day of Gallifrey, her ramblings were listened to with rapt attention. The Time Lord high council sat stiffly around the large wooden table at which she sat, gently rocking, madly scribbling on parchment before her and eventually singing out her dire predictions.

"Ending, burning, falling, all of it falling, the black and pitch and screaming fire, so burning and the Darkness ever Darkness arising and seeking until the wolf howls," the old woman with long, stringy gray hair dressed in tattered robes and with dark wild eyes called out.

"It is always the same, My Lord," a Time Lord explained to Lord Rassilon, bowing his head in deference. "She speaks of the end of us, that this is the last day of Gallifrey."

"Perhaps that is best. Millions die every second in the bloodlust and insanity of this war with time itself resurrecting them, to find new ways of dying, over and over again, a travesty of life. Isn't it better to end it here at last," an elderly Time Lady said sadly.

Rassilon's face barely showed the cold rage within. He armed himself with a gauntlet, known only in Time Lord legend, and aimed at the Time Lady who dared contradict his edict that Time Lords, as the superior species, would prevail. With a clench of his gloved fist, she disintegrated into ashes. All other Time Lords or Ladies within the chamber who bore witness to this execution looked away, accepting Rassilon's final verdict.

"I will NOT die! Do you hear me? A billion years of Time Lord history riding on our backs. I will not let this perish. I will NOT!" Rassilon shouted in madness, banging his gloved hand down on the wooden table.

The only person in the room not flinching was the Seer who continued mumbling about "Ending, burning, fire, darkness and wolves."

Another Time Lord nervously shifted some of the Seer's parchment over and pointed out that the Seer also foretold of two survivors, two children of Gallifrey who survived beyond the alleged end of their society.

"Who!" Rassilon demanded in his imperious tone.

The Time Lord stuttered, "It foresees them locked in their final confrontation, the enmity of ages, which would suggest.."

"The Doctor and the Master," Rassilon finished for him, a cruel almost mad smile lighting his face. "Of course. This is the solution. The seeds of our salvation firmly planted in the young mind of a Time Lord of great potential. The drum beat of a warrior; the rhythm of four for the heart beat of a Time Lord."

The Seer began calling out the name of Earth over and over again. Rassilon looked over at her and smiled. "Earth, a primitive inconsequential world. This is where our salvation shall come to fruition," he announced.

"But how, we are still in the Time Lock," a Time Lord asked.

Rassilon turned to him. "The signal has been sent. Even now, I can feel the thrumming beat he sends to us."

"But, it is nothing more than a thought and an idea. It's not enough," the Time Lord said and looked away as Rassilon glared at him.

"We need something tangible, a focus, something small and shining. A star, a tiny star, falling and burning its way to Earth," Rassilon said as he removed a diamond from his staff, walked over to a window and hurled it outward toward Earth.

He turned and walked with purpose from the room followed by his high council until he entered the great council chambers of the Time Lords. Before him, in the great cavernous room filled with the worried noise of the Time Lord council, he held up his hands and quieted the contentious murmur. It did not take long for him to spin a golden tale of salvation persuading the council to vote in favor of his mad plans. Only two dissented, and they were cast aside, standing as a monument to their shame like the weeping angels of old.

Meanwhile, back at Canary Wharf, the Doctor, Jack and Rose were quickly captured by the Master's followers as they entered the building from the roof. The Master gloated as they were brought before him in the ghost room and shoved to their knees.

"The Doctor, the freak and the saucy blonde!" the Master said with glee. "Welcome to the party! Know what were celebrating? Well, of course you don't. You were too busy mooning over Blondie and blowing up bits of my new realm, you scofflaw you!" the Master said to the Doctor, walking toward where the three were restrained.

"You don't have to do this, Master! Let them go! You only want me," the Doctor said, watching the Master closely.

He looked at Jack and snapped his fingers. A gun was tossed at him and he shot Jack in the head. Rose screamed.

He blew in the barrel of the gun and tossed it casually over his shoulder. "Still never gets old," he said, sighing and smiling. He looked over at the Doctor who was clearly in pain over watching his friend suffer. Even if Jack came back to life, he still suffered through every death.

"It's much more fun to torment you with your pets around," he said and walked over to Rose and peered at her.

"Well now, what have we here? Now, you are an interesting little tidbit, aren't you?" he said as he leaned in and inhaled, a blissful expression on his face.

"Don't you touch her!" the Doctor screamed at him, struggling against the people restraining him.

The Master looked over at him and smirked and then back at Rose. He leaned in close to her ear. "I don't think he likes me near you," he said with evil giddy glee. "Know why?"

Rose glared at him, tears running down her face as she glanced down at Jack's dead body, almost overcome with pain for her fallen friend.

He picked up strands of her golden hair and inhaled again. "It's cause he thinks you're his. Are you now? His?" Rose spat in his face. He looked furious and slapped her knocking her head back.

"Rose!" the Doctor shouted as he watched the Master's cult members bring her upright, a red welt apparent across half her face as she glared at the Master rebelliously.

The Master stared darkly at her. "You're not fully human. What are you?"

"Leave her be!" the Doctor commanded, an anger that had never before been directed at the Master flaring to life in his eyes.

The Master turned to him and smiled. "Oh, she has been good for you. All that fire and rage practically radiating off of you. It's going to make this all the more enjoyable. He turned back to Rose and placed his hands on her head."

"Noooo!" the Doctor screamed as the Master delved into Rose's mind determined to destroy her from within as he absorbed her life force.

Rose was terrified when she felt the Master crawl inside her mind. It was not at all like the Doctor. Instead of a warm embrace, it was as if he was digging his way in with sharpened knives and hot pokers. She screamed and felt her fear turn into rage and resentment. How dare this arrogant Time Lord violate her like this. The tables turned abruptly.

Suddenly, the Master felt her telepathically defend herself. A loud howling filled his mind drowning out the beating drums. He let go of her and staggered back.

Tears were streaming down her face. "Pounding, drumming never stopping. They never stop. What are they? What's wrong with you?" she cried in broken sobs.

He looked at her in surprise and bit of fear before he was consumed with rage at her impudence in resisting him. Just as he was about to take retribution against her for her rebellion, it hit him what she had said. She heard the drums. Before he could explore the matter further, one of his minions called out to him.

"Master, the machine is ready!"

He turned and gazed at the machine, his eyes alight with madness. When he turned back to Rose, a calculating look crossed his face. "You shouldn't be able resist me." He walked over to the Doctor. "What is she?"

The Doctor wore a black expression on his face. "She is like nothing you've ever seen before nor will you ever again. I wouldn't advise trying that again or next time, she might not be so restrained. I'm not sure I will be either," he said, seething with anger at her violation.

The Master laughed. "We'll see about that." He looked over at Rose. "You heard them didn't you?" Rose flinched in response, looking at him with revulsion.

He smirked, now feeling more in control. "Oh, I may like you," he said, a vicious plan forming in his mind. "You have the potential to be something great. A dark harbinger of destruction to implement your Master's will across the universe. Yes, I'll enjoy breaking your spirit," he said, walking back to her and looking into her eyes. "Don't think whatever pathetic attempt he's made to guard your mind and keep you all to himself will keep me from having you," he said with menace.

He abruptly turned his back to them and walked away just as Jack gasped back to life. While the Master was busy, the Doctor turned to Rose. "Are you all right?" he whispered, concerned at the damage the Master could have done to her mind.

Rose nodded her head. "There's something inside of him. It's dark and twisted and pounding. It kept beating in some rhythm like some kind of mad drummer," she said, her voice cracking. The Doctor again struggled against the bonds of the Master's minions to reach her but they held him fast.

He took a breath in and reached out to her mind to calm her. He met strong mental shields, like she had locked her mind down tight which shocked him. She shouldn't have that capability. She turned to him with her soulful, tear filled eyes and he felt a crack form and a tendril of golden light reach out to him. He telepathically caressed that light and felt that warm feeling between them flare to life.

Jack, who was once again, restrained looked over at them. "What did he do?" he asked, his own voice hoarse from his reanimation. He could see the welt on Rose's face and the dark look in the Doctor's eyes. Memories of the Valiant washed over him and anger began to rage. Thoughts of Martha tucked away in the building and what this psychopath would do to her took firm hold in his mind. This time he wouldn't stand by while the Doctor tried to save the insane Time Lord. One look at what he had done to Rose was enough to convince him. .

Before the Doctor or Rose could answer Jack's question, the Master laughed out in glee clapping his hands and practically jumping up and down. He turned to them. "Now you'll see what a Time Lord can do!" he shouted as he walked over to the arch in the middle of the room. He stood at the pedestal gazing into the liquid silver ball and smiled.

He turned toward the Doctor and pulled the diamond out of his pocket. "You know what this is, don't you?"

"No! It can't be! Whatever you're going to do, just stop. Please just stop and listen to me. Think about this!"

"I'm tired of listening to your drivel. You destroyed everything. It's all your fault! You and your sanctimonious speeches about saving the universe. You killed them all for what! What Doctor! The Daleks still survived and you exterminated our people. Now what have we got!" the Master shouted, his eyes wild as he paced and gestured like the mad man he was.

"Master, you know what it was like. You knew the end was near. There was no other way! Rassilon was going to destroy everything even you. The decision was not just mine. There were others. They understood it was the end. There was a choice and they chose for the rest of the universe to live, even at the cost of their own lives. I did what they asked me to do," the Doctor said, at first in anger and then in sadness.

"I didn't want to. I begged not to but… I was chosen. They said I was the only one who could do it," he said, laughing darkly, ignoring Rose calling out to him.

"I wasn't suppose to live. I wanted to die with them," he said with hard edge to his voice. He looked back up at the Master. "You think I wanted this? To be alone! The only thing I feared more was what Rassilon would do. Do you really want to bring him back? Do you?" the Doctor asked darkly.

"I can handle him, all of them. That's the difference between us. You didn't want to look them in the eyes when you destroyed them. You always did flinch at the bloodletting. Not me. I'll drive the dagger right through him, suck the life out of his rotting corpse and put him back in that old, moldy tomb where he belongs."

"Oh Master," the Doctor said with pity.

"Oh don't you start! I will not have your pity! Do you hear me! I'm going to bring them back and take control. I'll make a new Gallifrey, one in my own image," he shouted. Then he smiled wickedly. "And I'll have your precious Rose at my side. I'll show her what you can't. She understands the drums."

He turned to Rose. "Don't you blondie! You heard them. You heard them and while you were joined with me, they quieted. You tamed the drums and made us both stronger. Oh, the things I will do to you. The girl who swallowed the Time Vortex," he said softly, contemplating mad plans and how she would be his implement of destruction.

Rose was filled with horror and the beginnings of anger. She would not let this monster take control and she would never allow him to harm her Doctor or Jack ever again.

The Master snapped out of his musings and jumped back to the arch. He looked over his shoulder at them. "But first, we have to bring back Gallifrey and dominate the Time Lords. Then we'll conquer the rest of the universe," he said cheerily, waving his hand like it was no big deal.

"And it'll be easy! I've been siphoning off the life force of the entire human population starting with that fiery ginger, Donna Noble."

The Doctor and Rose shouted out simultaneously "No!" when they heard him talk so casually about Donna. The Doctor knew how serious what the Master had done to Donna was. He needed to stop the Master quickly and get to Donna before it was too late.

Jack struggled even harder against being held. His eyes narrowed on the Master. His mind filled with dark thoughts and how it was time the Master learned what torture felt like. Jack would sacrifice his own life over and over to save his friends despite the pain, but no one hurt the people he loved. Rose, Martha, Donna and even the Doctor who had run from him and called him wrong, had inspired him to better, changed him in ways even he didn't understand. They were his friends and family. They made life worth living. He and the Master had unfinished business.

The Master only smiled brighter at the obvious pain the Doctor suffered at learning how the Master and victimized Donna. "Oh but she was a tasty one!" he said with glee. "All that life force strengthening me, making me stronger so that I can find them, make a connection and bring them to me!" he said, referring to Gallifrey.

He was just about to drop the diamond into the silver liquid sphere when the electricity fluctuated. He looked angrily at his minions. "Well don't just stand there! I have universe to conquer! Go fix it!" he shouted.

The Doctor looked up and smiled. Jack looked over at him and winked. "It's good to have friends," Jack said, thinking that Martha and Mickey had figured out what was happening up here. He only hoped they were safe.

The Doctor smiled slightly. "Master, please. You don't have to do this. I can help you."

The Master rolled his eyes. "Oh don't you ever shut up! You know you can't stop me and you will help cause when I'm done with this, Rosie and I are taking a trip of destruction across the universe in your Tardis. Maybe, we'll bring you along as a pet," he said and then grinned when the electricity came on.

"Oh, it's good to be the Master!" he said, smiling brightly and gently set the diamond on the sphere and watched as it glowed white until the glare was too much to look into.

"No," the Doctor whispered, his eyes filled with terror as he watched the arch reverberate with power and felt a wave of nausea as time shifted, time lines snapped and the universe began to unravel.

As the light of the diamond dimmed, the Time Lords appeared in the arch. Rassilon stood in front in his long scarlet robes with gold metallic detailing, ever the confident leader. There were more scarlet dressed Time Lords wearing elaborate golden head gear on either side of him and two Time Lords toward the rear, their faces covered with their hands.

The Master's minions fled, freeing the Doctor, Rose and Jack to stand up.

"Lord Master, Lord Doctor we are gathered for the end," Lord Rassilon said in a commanding voice.

"No, you can't," the Doctor said in a firm voice which belied the terror that Rose felt rolling off of him. She strode forward until she was shoulder to shoulder with the Doctor.

"It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hands of Gallifrey's most infamous child," Rassilon said, looking at the Master. He turned back to the Doctor and stared at Rose.

He lifted up his gloved hand and pointed at her. "Impossible, forbidden!" He turned to the Doctor "You dare to defile my perfection. This thing, this half breed contains my design within it's cells. Time Lords are superior and none shall share in our glory!"

"I didn't make Rose. She is the result of Time Lord intervention in her civilization long ago. Well, that and my Tardis along with her own very human, very beautiful instincts to love. Maybe you don't like her because she is so much better than you," the Doctor told him, looking at Rassilon with a cold disdain.

"You would choose her over the superiority of your own people. This is your crime and your punishment will be to watch her destruction before your own unmaking as we ascend to be creatures of pure consciousness," Rassilon announced.

Rose felt something inside herself snap. She was tired of arrogant, self serving, nutter Time Lords thinking they can insult her or order her around. "That's enough!" she shouted, unknowingly channeling a power within her that prickled the skin of any time sensitive being. "Now see here you pompous, conceited, ancient wanker! You're time is up! You had your chance and you blew it!"

"Uh Rose," the Doctor said trying to calm her down, although innerly chuckling at the thought that someone just called Rassilon a wanker.

"Not now," Rose told him, annoyed and still staring Rassilon down. The Master stood back and smiled as he watched her bloom with power and looking forward to the day he would get to use that power.

"This is my universe and you don't get to come here all 'I am the supreme nutter Time Lord and gonna wipe out the universe so I can live.' Everything dies eventually, even you!"

The Doctor stood silently watching and waiting for Rassilon to react to Rose. He knew that Rassilon would know instinctively that Rose had the ability to tap into a power far greater than a Time Lord. He also knew that Rassilon would see her as a threat to his plans.

Jack walked up to stand on Rose's other side catching the Time Lords' attention and distracting them from Rose. The entire group winced. "Abomination!" Rassilon shouted.

"No!" Rose shouted, her head held high. "No," she said again softly. "You have no idea how much better than you he is." She grasped Jack's hand in hers. Jack felt a slight jolt at the contact. It was like electricity flowing throw him, standing his hair on end. He had no idea what Rose was doing or if she even knew she was doing it, but something was happening.

Rassilon raised his gloved hand at Rose and Jack. The Doctor shouted out "No!" and ran in front of them.

"So be it. You will die with them, Doctor!" Rassilon announced and smiled cruelly. Before he could carry out their death sentence, the Master, who saw this as an opportunity to begin his own assault on Rassilon, pulled out his laser screwdriver and fired it at Rassilon. Rassilon turned to him and sent him flying across the room as Rassilon easily deflected the laser fire.

The room shook and a rift formed on one side. The inky blackness of the Darkness began to ooze out. Several Time Lords gasped as the thick dark tendrils stretched out toward them soon followed by a bone aching chill as the emptiness of the void also began leeching through the tear in the universe.

Rose trembled and her eyes widened with terror as she realized what was coming to pass. "Void Lords," she said in terror. Evil Red Riding Hood stood beneath the universal tear, staring disdainfully at the Time Lords. She turned to Rose and said, "Only in darkness is their truth."

"No, you're wrong," Rose replied and looked from the rift to the Darkness to the Time Lords and back to the evil child who was smirking at her. Her mind was swirling with bits of everything she had experienced since the night of the festival. Two red hooded girls, mirror images of each other. One consumed by darkness while the other staying true to her heart. Rose felt a chill as she remembered her time in the Void, what the Void Lords wanted of her. Then, she thought about the kind red hooded child's message "_Do you know who you are?_"

Rose looked back at the evil child. "In darkness there is loss. Loss of hope and loss of everything that makes you who you are. That's not me. I escaped the darkness of the Void and I found my home and followed my heart," Rose said and turned to the Doctor who stood stiffly by her, sonic in hand ready to once again defend the universe from whatever terror now threatened it. Rose took his hand. This time, he was not alone.

The kind red-hooded child appeared next to Rose and smiled at her.

Rose felt the warmth and confidence generated by that smile and felt something inside of her begin to unfurl. She wasn't afraid. She wouldn't be ruled by fear. She was the Bad Wolf and the Void Lords were afraid of her. She looked down at the child. "When the wolf howls they're afraid 'cos they know a storm is comin'" Rose said with confidence and squeezed the Doctor's hand. "And, they better run, she finished with hint of steel in her voice

The shadowy, ephemeral Void Lords drifted through the tear in the universe whispering, "We are the new us. The anomaly has fulfilled the prophecy and we shall control all."

"No," the Doctor said and looked at Rose. He saw her smile with confidence at him. He looked at their joined hands and said one word. "Together." Rose nodded at him and they stood together facing Time Lords and Void Lords alike.


	12. Chapter 12

a/n: Once again, **Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed and favorited this story!** Huge warm hugs to who_in_whoville beta extraordinaire and my sistahs, Timelord1 and aintafraidanoghosts! The three of you are awesome! Next I credit the term Void Lords to Fannishliss who suggested it after reading Finding The Way and very kindly allowed be to use it.

Children of Earth has not yet happened yet in his verse. Also, this is not a literal interpretation of End of Time but does include several aspects of it along with some of the dialog. This was a truly challenging story so thanks for hanging in there with me. Maybe there will be more in this verse. We shall see. There's a poll on my home page so let me know if you'd like to read more.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who

"_He looked at their joined hands and said one word. "Together." Rose nodded at him and they stood together facing Time Lords and Void Lords alike"_

Jack had pulled away, looking for an opportunity to intervene and stop this madness. When he saw Rose standing with the Doctor, he understood what the red hooded girl meant. Bad Wolf had sent a message. If darkness claimed Rose, she would be the evil child filled with hatred and malice. The kind child turned to him and winked. He had a feeling neither the Void Lords nor the Time Lords stood a chance.

There was movement off to the side. He saw the Master sit up and glare at the Time Lords. He remembered what the Lady and White had told him. "_A sacrifice must be made…. When the time comes, the Black Knight will have a moment of clarity_." He stared at the Master watching and waiting to see what he would do.

"My Lord Rassilon, the Darkness!" one of the Time Lords shouted as they watched in fascinated horror as the Darkness began to consume parts of the building.

The Void Lords swirled in mass over the Time Lords. "We have learned, evolved become the new us. You are the inferior; those lost and left behind to burn. The last remnants of what we were. You cannot stop us."

Rassilon looked up at them, his cold eyes ever calculating. "Void Lords, superior! You are nothing but damaged fools. Instead of standing tall and proud defending your world, you took the coward's way and this is your reward, to be nothing more than mad phantoms. Go back to your void and suffer the eternal howling. You are no Time Lords!"

"We are more, stronger. We control the Darkness and will remake you and the universe to our perfection," the Void Lords responded in their hissing voices.

The Master stood off to the side, madly plotting how he could use this all to his advantage. The Void Lords were ruining everything. He looked across the room at Rose and the Doctor. He could feel something building in Rose. "Yes, that's it. Go on Blondie. Show them what your made of and when you're done. I'll be there to finish it," he whispered.

The Darkness shifted and Rassilon raised his gloved hand and telepathically called out to all Time Lords to channel their combined power to send the Darkness back to it's imprisonment.

The Doctor felt the seductive siren call of the Time Lords. It had been so long since he heard his people call out in one voice. He shivered as it danced across his mind. All of the Time Lords in the room including the Doctor and the Master stood and focused on the Darkness.

Rose could feel things shifting but couldn't understand what the Time Lords were doing. She saw the Darkness stutter and stop. The Void Lords slithered and flew around the room, darting back and forth near the Darkness almost in agitation. There was a change in air pressure and Rose felt her ears pop as the Darkness raced toward the Time Lords only to be stopped once again. She looked at Rassilon and could see muscles ticking in his face as his gloved hand glowed and pulsed. It was evident there was a battle raging over control of the Darkness. The Darkness rippled and moved back and forth slowly between the rift and the Time Lords.

After one whispered "Nooooo!" from the Void Lords, the dark mass that was the Darkness began shrinking in and collapsing in on itself until it was no more than a dot, and then disappeared in an explosion of light. Rose felt energy wash over her and took a step back. Evil Red Riding Hood faded away with a scream.

Rose never let go of the Doctor's hand. She breathed in and realized the heavy feeling that had been haunting her for days was lifted. She looked to her side and the kind child smiled up at her. She opened her basket to Rose. Rose smiled as she realized what the little girl was trying to explain. Everything she needed was inside of her and it had always been there. The little girl nodded and faded away in a burst of golden light.

The Time Lords all took heaving breathes and stumbled a bit. All except for Rassilon who looked completely unaffected except for the self satisfied smile on her face.

The Master walked over toward them, glancing up at the Void Lords who were howling in rage. He looked at Rassilon. "You've still got a bit of a problem. One that I might be able to solve. You see Lord President, I have the power of every life force on this stinking planet. Billions upon billions of human lives are feeding me, imbibing me with life and power. What's to stop me from using it against the Void Lords or you?"

Rassilon aimed his gloved hand at the Master. "You are nothing but a means to my victory, a tool which has outlived it's use." Rassilon pointed his gloved hand at a mechanism which had been generating the psychic field putting the Earth population in a deep sleep. The Master gasped as his supply of life force was cut off. He looked up at Rassilon with resentment as a red glow filtered into the room through the windows.

"Behold, it's arrival!" Rassilon announced in a booming voice.

"What do you mean?" the Master asked, still shuddering from the loss of life force sustaining him and looking from the window to Rassilon.

"Quit being thick!" the Doctor shouted irritated. "The prophecy said it comes. He's bringing Gallifrey here to begin the end of everything."

The Master looked at the Doctor. He'd argued his way out of less and turned to Rassilon. "Fine, bring it on. It's my doing! I saved you! I deserve salvation. I'll ascend with you!"

The Doctor stared a the Master with pity. "You don't understand what he's bringing back! You weren't there in the final days of the War. You never saw what was born. If the time-lock's broken, then everything's coming through, not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-Have-Been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-Weres, the war turning to hell. And that's what you opened, right above the Earth. Hell is descending!" the Doctor shouted, his eyes filled with dark terror.

"Good! Sounds like my kind of place," the Master responded.

"My chosen will ascend to beings of pure consciousness, free from these bodies, free from time and cause and effect," Rassilon announced as a he basked in the red glow. "We initiate the final sanction! The end of time will come at my hand. The rupture will continue until it rips apart the Time Vortex!"

"Fine, take me with you. I've earned it," the Master told them, falling to his knees in supplication.

"You? You are a disease, albeit a disease of our own making. You will be destroyed. This is your reward."

"What! But that's not fair! You did this to me!" the Master raged.

Jack pulled out his gun and aimed it at Rassilon. "I don't think so. This stops now."

"Jack, don't!" the Doctor said as he watched Jack stare coldly at Rassilon who raised his gloved hand at Jack.

"He'll kill you, Jack and I mean the death you won't return from. This isn't your responsibility," the Doctor said, emotion lacing his voice.

Jack turned and looked at Rose and the Doctor and heard the Lady's words. "_He will not want to sacrifice you, neither will she." _Jack looked into the Doctor's pain stricken eyes and Rose's pleading face and knew, he wouldn't let this fall to them. He turned back to Rassilon and saw the Master creeping toward the diamond. Suddenly, the Void Lords descended and attacked.

Jack, the Doctor and Rose dove for the floor. They heard Rassilon cursing the Void Lords and knew he was trying to destroy them as they mocked him.

An alarm sounded and the room filled with fire retardant mist. The Doctor grinned. "Good going Mr. Mickey!" he said as his respiratory bypass kicked in. The mist completely filled the room so all anyone could see were glimpses of Void Lords swirling about and Rassilon madly praising the return of Gallifrey and the destruction of everything else. The Doctor crawled, dragging a gasping Rose toward where he thought Jack was. His hand found Jack's gun. He held it, staring in horror at the implement of death in his hand.

The room began to clear of the mist. Jack lay gasping across the room near the Master who was next to the diamond, staring at it. The Time Lords stood seemingly unaffected by what had just happened and the Void Lords hovered around the rift, more of them slipping through as if amassing and army.

The Doctor pulled Rose up, still holding the gun and turned to aim it at Rassilon who stared back at him insolently.

"Choose your enemy well. We are many, he is but one," Rassilon said indicating the Master.

The Doctor swung the gun around to the Master. He had caused this, brought back the Time Lords through his own lust for power. The madness inside his head was the signal that drew the Time Lords to Earth. As he contemplated that he would have to take arms one last time to finally end the time war, he heard a song and felt Rose in his mind. She was still gasping beside him but her thoughts were clear. "Don't do this. This isn't you and what will killing the Master really accomplish. Please."

"Wait! It's not just me! He's the link!" the Master said, looking at Rassilon.

The Doctor couldn't disagree with that. After all, Rassilon had used the Master, had tormented him for years causing his insanity. He swung the gun to Rassilon.

"The final act of your life will be murder. It's almost fitting isn't it considering you always turned your back on us, your own heritage. So which will it be Doctor?" Rassilon taunted.

One of the shamed Time Lords behind Rassilon dropped her hands and looked the Doctor in the eye. The Doctor gasped and Rose looked up at the Time Lady and met her eyes. Rose turned back to the Doctor, sensing the intensity of his feelings and the connection to the Time Lady. She was so brave and so very unlike the other Time Lords around her. She was compassionate and the one message she gave to Rose was, "My time is passed. It's time to let go. He will need you always."

Rose tightened her grip on his hand as he swallowed hard and tearfully acknowledged whatever message had been directed to him. He turned back to the Master who looked almost resigned. "Get out of the way," The Doctor ordered. The Master dove to the floor and the Doctor shot the diamond, shattering it and breaking the link to the Time Lords.

Rassilon roared with rage as machinery began sparking and exploding around them. "Back to Gallifrey, Rassilon. Back into Hell!" the Doctor shouted.

"You'll all die with me!" he retorted.

Rose stood up as the Doctor dropped the gun. She turned to Rassilon. "No, we won't," she said with utter calmness. She looked up at the Void Lords and then at the Doctor. She squeezed the Doctor's hand. Utter calmness befell the two of them. The Doctor looked into her eyes, his filled with utter blackness of despair at having to condemn his people once more. He felt Rose in his mind lighting the dark places, showing him possible time lines of what could be and what must be that even he couldn't see. He felt her connection to the Tardis and time strengthen and for the first time, really understood what gift the Tardis had bestowed. Time was a fickle mistress and did not always reveal everything to any one creature. She would not be denied her guardians and her guardians would follow her lead.

The two of them looked toward the rift and the Void Lords and touched some of the swirling time lines and possibilities that had converged at this point. With the Doctor's knowledge and Rose's ability, a possibility was influenced and the creatures of the Void turned their sights on the Time Lords. The Bad Wolf was here and her howl turned into an insidious whisper to the Void Lords, blaming all their pain and trouble on the Time Lords, on Rassilon.

The swirling mass of Void Lords became consumed with rage, whispering, "We will not end!" and swarmed Rassilon and the Time Lords converging on the vortex that was dragging them all back to Gallifrey and the time lock.

It was like a hurricane inside the ghost room. Wind whipped around and debris flew across the room. The Doctor wrapped his arms around Rose and held her tight to his chest, falling to the floor and covering her with his body. Jack and the Master were each hanging onto equipment as they were each lifted into the air. The red glow of Gallifrey disappeared and the wind stopped abruptly.

Papers and debris fell to the floor and the only sound was of equipment exploding and sirens sounding. The Doctor rolled off of Rose and looked down at her tenderly, "Hello," he whispered softly.

She smiled back at him. "Hello," she said and reached up to pull a piece of debris out of his hair. "We did it. We saved them."

"Of course we did," he said, standing and pulling her up with him. "We're the stuff of legends," he announced cockily.

The Master stared at the equipment which had controlled the Earth's population and banged it with his fist. "It's not fair!" he shouted petulantly. Jack crawled out from some debris next to him and smirked at the Master's tantrum.

Mickey and Martha burst into the room armed with giant plasma guns. "Now those are guns," Rose said jokingly.

"Late for the party again," Jack said as he stood up, keeping his eye on the Master.

The Doctor sighed. "Oh do put those things down before you hurt yourself or me. I'm not ready to regenerate just yet. I mean look at me," he said arrogantly and winked at Rose. "This body's got plenty of use left in it," he said and waggled his eyebrows at Rose.

"I'll say," she responded cheekily.

Mickey relaxed slightly and looked over at the Master and raised his gun again. "It ain't over yet, Boss!" he said, watching the Master working madly trying to repair his equipment.

The Doctor looked at the Master with pity. "Yes, it is," he answered simply.

"Doctor, I don't think you understand!" Martha shouted. "There's a critical overload. We can't shut off the power and this thing, whatever it is, is drawing power from the rift."

"She's right. It's gonna explode and rip apart the whole universe if we don't stop it," Mickey said, nervously handling his gun and glaring at the Master.

The Doctor turned and looked at the Master. "What! Like this is my fault!" the Master shouted back at him. The Doctor and Rose walked over so the Doctor could examine what was happening. Mickey and Martha stood firm with guns aimed at the Master.

The Doctor looked up at the Master. "It'll take two to do this."

The Master nodded. "If anyone's going to destroy the Universe, it'll be me, my way in my time, not the result of some stupid Void Lord or stingy Lord President's mad plan."

The Doctor shook his head. Typical Master.

Rose looked at him. "It's rift energy. You can't withstand a blast like that. It could kill you, both of you."

The Doctor looked at her, his eyes softening. "I'm sorry. There's no choice." He leaned down and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around him gave him a proper snog of his lives. In doing so, she nicked his sonic and set it to setting 56B8A and stunned him. He winced and dropped to the ground.

"Not this time," Rose said softly, looking down at his unconscious body. She looked at Mickey who stared at her in disbelief. "Don't just stand there. Get him out of here."

Rose turned back to the Master who was grinning at her. "Don't get any ideas. I'm doin' this for him. Now tell me what to do and let's get this thing shut off."

Jack looked at Rose and knew he couldn't let her do this. He watched the Master stare at Rose, grab her forcefully kissing her and knew. the Master wasn't going to let her do it. A moment of clarity and perhaps the only good thing the Master would ever do would be to spare Rose's life. He slammed his mind against hers and forcefully shoved an unconscious Rose away.

"She silenced the drums. Let her live." He turned to Jack. "Don't even think it!" the Master said, looking derisively at Jack. "I prefer blondes."

The Master went to work while snipping at Jack. "Don't just stand there! Come here and hold down that red switch!"

Jack did as the Master asked and watched Mickey and Martha drag Rose and the Doctor away. Martha turned back to him and he winked at her. She nodded to him, tears running down her face as she left the room.

Jack and the Master worked feverishly as time was running out. It seemed as if more of the void was leaking into the room and the ever cold and howling of it was setting Jack's nerves on edge. The Master didn't' show any reaction other than focusing on his task.

Finally, the Master paused and looked up a the rift. "I love a good explosion!" he said with a manic grin as everything went white.

Mickey and Martha felt the building shake as dust filled the air and bits of the ceiling fell around them. They huddled down next to the Doctor and Rose. The Doctor started to regain consciousness and sat up shouting out "Rose!"

"She's right here Doctor," Martha said, while coughing.

He looked over at Rose. "What happened? I mean I know what Rose did, but why is she unconscious?" he asked as he began examining her.

"The Master did it," Mickey said, wiping Martha's face off with a cloth as he held her tenderly.

The Doctor looked over at Mickey, clearly in shock. Rose sat up gasping shouting out, "You bastard!"

The Doctor sat back, looking at her. Rose looked at him and touched her lips. "I mean the Master. You see he…" she didn't finish, seeing the angry expression on the Doctor's face.

"We'll discuss you contradicting my decision later," he said sharply. He stopped suddenly. "Where's Jack," he asked softly.

"No," Rose said in an emotional voice. "We have to go back for him."

"He wanted both of you safe. He stayed with the Master and did what had to be done," Martha said, tears streaming down her face.

Rose and the Doctor looked at each and slowly stood up. They walked hand in hand down the hallway back to the ghost room. The door was blown off and the metal twisted and blackened. The roof and part of the outer wall was gone and sunlight filtered into the room. They walked over to where the main equipment had been and began lifting up debris. They found the Master and Jack, blackened and covered in blood with no pulse held in each other's embrace.

Rose broke down weeping and fell to the floor followed by the Doctor. He pulled her into his arms as they both grieved. Mickey and Martha walked up behind them. Martha fell to her knees next to them. "Is Jack…" she started to say, but could barely finish her thought. "Gone?"

The Doctor looked up while Rose's face was buried in his coat and shook his head. "I don't think…," he said as a golden light spread over Jack and the Master. They watched in amazement as the Master's and Jack's bodies were repaired and they both awoke with a gasp.

The Master looked at Jack and shoved him violently away. He looked at the Doctor. "This is your doing isn't it! You destroyed my magnificent exit. You just couldn't let me have my glory could you!"

The Doctor looked at him confused. "I didn't do this."

Jack sat up and looked at everyone. "Weren't we suppose to die as in permanently?" he asked.

Everyone turned and stared at Rose. "What's everyone lookin' at me for! I didn't do it!" she said defensively.

"Well, you do have a history of sort of…." the Doctor said without finishing.

"That's disgusting!" the Master declared and stood up. "I'm not a freak like him!" He touched his face suddenly. "I'm whole again. Ha!" He looked at the Doctor. "I don't need you. Any of you! Thanks for the cure Blondie. I'll be seeing you soon," he said as he punched Jack's vortex manipulator which he nicked and disappeared.

"Hey!" Jack shouted out, grasping at his now bare wrist.

"Doctor?" Rose asked questioningly.

The Doctor sighed. "He's still Time Lord, except not the life absorbing kind anymore. He was thanking you for curing him of the drums. Perhaps now he can find some peace."

"And Jack?"

The Doctor grinned. "Jack on the other hand is still, well, Jack. I'm sorry, Jack but you're still an impossible thing."

"Right. An impossible thing without a vortex manipulator. I feel naked."

Rose grinned. "Thought you like bein' naked."

Before Jack could respond, Martha interrupted. "Doctor, what about Donna?"

The Doctor's face fell as did Rose's. They raced through the destroyed building until they reached the medical wing. Sylvia was awake sitting next to Wilf watching over Donna who was still unconscious on the examining table. The room was still basically intact except for shattered glass and part of the ceiling being collapsed.

"Doctor!" Wilf called out. "I knew you could do it. You stopped them, right? Now you've come to save my Donna," Wilf said hopefully.

Sylvia stood up shakily. "Please, save my daughter," she said in a pleading manner that no one in the room had ever heard from her.

The Doctor walked up to Donna and placed his hand on her forehead. Rose handed him the sonic and he scanned Donna and stood back just staring at her.

"Doctor," she said softly and put her arm around him.

"She's lost so much," he whispered, filled with guilt. "I put her in danger. I put all of you in danger."

"No, Doctor, no," Wilf said walking up to him.

"You helped her be more, better. She has confidence now. There's nothing she can't do and you showed her that. You helped bring her to life. She was never so alive as when she met you. Don't you dare say you regret giving her that. Don't you dare, sir." Wilf said, almost chastising the Doctor for his regrets.

The Doctor looked at Wilf. "And look at her now! The Master may have drained her, but I'm responsible. He never would have found her if it wasn't for me!"

"And maybe she would have died in London when Lance tried to feed her to that spider. How is that better? No Doctor, you're wrong. I know you're old. My Donna told me. But, just because you've lived so long doesn't make you right about this. And, if she was able, she'd tell you so herself. So enough with the pity. Please, just do something!" Wilf demanded.

Rose looked up at the Doctor, her eyes filled with trust and faith. "You've gotten us out of worse than this.

"It's her life force, Rose," the Doctor said quietly.

Rose looked at him and smiled. "You once told me life was easy. Remember the Nanogenes when we met Jack?"

"It's not the same," he said miserably, staring at Donna's pale face.

"You said the Tardis was dead once when we fell into Pete's World. You found a way, remember?" Rose prodded.

The Doctor's face perked up and he turned to Rose. He pulled her to him and kissed her. "Brilliant! You're brilliant!" he shouted. "Oh I haven't tried something like this in centuries!" he shouted. He took off his coat and threw it at Mickey. He circled Donna until he stood in front of her head. He looked around the room. "Old Time Lord trick. Only did it once before with a friend of mind who got himself into a jam. Sort of a jump start to help a Time Lord a regenerate."

Martha walked around near him. "But Doctor, Donna's not regenerating," Martha reminded him, but was anxious to see what he had up his sleeve.

He grinned at Martha. "Indeed she's not. Humans are much simpler." He began rubbing his hands together and blew into them until something glowed. He then placed his hands on Donnas head and the energy was absorbed by her. She gasped, but didn't open her eyes.

"Come on Donna. You can do this. You're too stubborn to give up," the Doctor whispered.

Donna gasped one more time and her eyes fluttered open. Sylvia and Wilf cried out. The Doctor jumped up and down shouting out "Yes!"

Martha looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "You did it!"

"Of course I did," he said confidently and hugged her.

Mickey walked up and threw the coat back at the Doctor. "Oi, watch it. That's my girl," Mickey said and pulled Martha away.

"Quite right," the Doctor answered, looking fondly at the two of them.

"Oi, you lot, what's happening?" Donna demanded, sitting up and glaring at everyone.

"Well honey, you missed the party. It was quite something. We had the Master, Time Lords, and Void Lords. You know typical end of the Universe stuff. And, yours truly saved the day," Jack said bragging.

Donna looked over at Rose. "Well?"

Rose reached out and held Donna's hand in hers. "Well, it was a bit complicated but same result. You know, zombies, stop the megalomaniac from blowin' up the planet, explosions, nutter Time Lords. Pretty standard for us."

Donna leaned over. "Zombies? Seriously? You'll tell me the rest over drinks, promise." Rose nodded and smiled, relieved that Donna appeared to be all right. "Anything else?" Donna asked. "I feel weird and I got this weird craving for bananas."

Rose burst out laughing and everyone looked at the Doctor. "What? It's not my fault. Wellll, maybe it is a bit."

Donna glared at him. "What did you do!"

"Oh, I gave you a bit of an energy boost. Sort of a jump start. You may have gotten a teeny tiny bit of my personality but don't worry it won't last for long," the Doctor assured her, backing away.

"Oh my God! You mean I'm going to go around babbling nonsense like you!" she shouted.

Everyone burst out laughing again. Rose walked over and looked at the Doctor. She whispered, "The Doctor Donna."

He looked at Rose and his eyes widened in surprise and then he broke out in a huge grin. They soon snuck out while Martha checked Donna over and everyone celebrated.

Later, after the dust had settled, the Doctor and Rose sat at their favorite Chippy in London. They had made small talk, but not addressed any of the big issues. "So, where do we go from here?" Rose asked as she bit into a chip.

The Doctor stared at her. "Same old life, moving along. Well, moving along when the Tardis is ready. She's been through a lot. She needs to sit on the rift in Cardiff for a while."

Rose nodded. "And us, we all right?" she asked, looking at him worried about his answer.

He reached across the table, held her hand and stared soulfully into her eyes. "You mean with the Master."

Rose nodded her head. "I'm sorry. I couldn't watch you…"

He looked down, his thumb caressing her wrist. "You might be different, but you're still essentially human. You're still Rose. You think with your heart first. I know that, but Rose, you have to trust me."

"I do trust you. I do. It's just sometimes, you don't share your burden and that means you take so much onto yourself and it's not fair to me or Donna or anyone that loves you. It's hard to watch you punish yourself this way. I'm sorry I tricked you, but I'm not sorry why I did it or how it all worked out."

He smiled at her. "I know and I wouldn't have you any other way. That being said, you're on restriction."

Rose's eyes widened. "What?"

He grinned and had such a sparkle in his eyes. "Oh, yes you are. From now on, no more wandering off alone or with Donna. We're going to be on Earth for a while and I can't imagine a place you could get into more trouble. Besides, maybe I want you all to myself for a while. Think we've earned a bit of vacation."

Rose smiled brightly. "I'd like that." She looked down at the table again as she began worrying. "Doctor, the Master. What if he…"

"No," he said, cutting her off. "I'm not letting him near you."

"He said I stopped the drums, but I don't' know how. All I saw was madness in him. It was awful," she said quietly.

"Yeah," the Doctor answered sadly.

Jack bounded in. "Hey there love birds!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Don't call us that," he told Jack with a haughty Time Lord glare.

Jack just laughed. "Yeah, right. So, I've got my crew loading up the Tardis and taking it back to Cardiff. Thought I might give you a lift."

Rose looked at the Doctor who stared out the window at Jack's black SUV with disdain. "That's all right, Jack. Think we'll take the slow path for a bit. Besides, we like riding the train," Rose explained.

"I'll bet you do," Jack said suggestively. "See you later then. Call me, okay?" Rose nodded and Jack left.

They left the Chippy and looked up at the sunny blue sky and around the bustling city which appeared recovered from the near universal ending catastrophe. "So where to?" the Doctor asked.

Rose grinned and pointed. "That way."

The Doctor pulled her to him, gazing into her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, that way." They may be planet bound, but they are still the Doctor and Rose and they will find adventure wherever they are.

The End? Never for these two!


End file.
